A Second Chance Book 1: Avaya Black
by Alna'ir
Summary: CURRENTLY ON HIATUS. AU. A girl shows up at the Leaky Cauldron requesting to see the murderer Sirius Black. She says her name is Avaya Black. Who is she and how will she change Hogwarts and most importantly Snape and Draco's lives when she joins as a second year.
1. A new pawn

**Chapter 1**

**A new pawn**

"I am looking for Sirius Black," was the only thing written on the piece of paper the little girl showed him. Tom, innkeeper of the Leaky Cauldron, frowned at the text. Who could be this kid asking for a well known murderer? She was definitely a witch since she had found his inn, but where could be her parents?

Before he could really start thinking about questioning the small girl or what to do next, Hagrid came in with his happy grin and sat down at one of the tables. "Hey Tom, the usual fer me please," he told him with his loud voice.

Tom looked at the child and motioned her to wait a moment. He prepared a glass for the half-giant and brought it to him while the kid was trying to sit down on one of the stools at the bar. "Thanks Tom," said Hagrid when he put the glass in front of him. "Hagrid, I have something to ask you," he whispered keeping an eye on the kid, but still looking at his client. When Hagrid looked at him with curiosity, Tom showed him the piece of paper and explained, "It's the little girl sitting at the bar who gave me this. I don't know what I'm supposed to do Hagrid. She's definitely a witch to be here, but she doesn't seem to know that Black is a murderer and for such locked up in Azkaban. And I don't think her parents are here. Maybe you could try to find out more?"

Hagrid looked passed Tom and saw the kid he was referring to. "Sure Tom. Send her ter me." In the worst case, he could always bring the child to Dumbledore and the Headmaster would be able to track down her parents. Tom went behind his counter and Hagrid saw him talk to the girl while pointing at him. A couple of seconds later, two young dark brown eyes were looking at him. He guessed the kid was probably eleven or twelve years old and he wondered, like Tom did, where her parents could be.

"Tom told me yer lookin' fer Black," stated Hagrid looking at the girl and motioning her to sit on a chair next to his. She nodded once, still looking at him. She had black hair falling down in the middle of her back, snow white skin, and nothing in her feature showed the innocence a kid should have. She had not smiled once since coming in and her eyes were filled with strong determination. Hagrid noticed that this kid was acting strange for someone her age and wondered if he should just bring her right now to Hogwarts or try to find out more first. Looking at his still full glass, he decided it would be waste to leave before emptying it and decided to ask some more question while finishing his drink. He started with what seemed the most obvious question. "Where are yer parents, kid?" he asked before drinking a bit. The girl shrugged, looking away from him. That's all he needed now, he thought, a kid who ran away. "Can yeh at least tell me yer name?" he demanded hopping to get a real answer this time. He saw her reaching for a pad and a pen in her pocket. Once she was done writing, she shown the piece of paper to him.

"Avaya Black," was her answer.


	2. A strange story

**Chapter 2**

**A strange story**

Hagrid had choked down his drink and was now looking at the strange girl. This interview was getting stranger minute by the minute. "Are yeh tellin' me yer related ter Black?" he asked hoping the last names were only coincidence. Once again, she nodded, but with less confidence this time. "Yeah, er..." Hagrid didn't know what to say or do, so only one solution was left: Dumbledore. "I can't really help yeh..." he started saying, but as the girl got up, he quickly followed, "but I know someone who can: Professor Dumbledore." Since the child had not yet moved away, he continued, "I can brin' yeh ter him if yeh want." She looked at him and seemed to be weighing the pros and the cons for half a second before finally nodding.

Hagrid left some change on the table for the drink and offered his hand to the child. "I have a portkey," he told the girl, but she didn't have any reaction. He walked towards the back door of the pub and once they were out, he pulled out an odd golden spoon from one of his numerous pockets. "Just touch the spoon and don' let go 'till we arrived. Nothin' ter worry 'bout." The girl looked at him sceptically, but still nodded. "Hold tight," he said before activating the portkey with a word.

Avaya tightened her grip on the small spoon when she felt like a hook somewhere behind her navel was pulling her. She kept her eyes opened all the way, but she couldn't really see much. Once the pulling stopped, the ground was back under her feet, but unbalanced, she fell knees and hands on the ground. She threw a glare at the tall man before noticing that they were now in an unknown place. She had no idea where they were or where they were going, but she still followed, albeit reluctantly. At some point, she realised they were walking towards the biggest castle she had ever seen and felt slightly intimidated. She didn't know there was such a thing in her country, if that's where they still were obviously. She was even more impressed when they walked in and she had a look at the moving and talking portraits. But all those emotions could not be read on her face. She had learned long ago not to let other people see how she felt; it was always bound to bring some troubles.

Hagrid walked to the gargoyle that was protecting the stairs to Dumbledore's office. Once in a while he would glance at the kid, but nothing had change: she was still wearing the same serious expression. He gave the password to the statue and went up the stairs, knocking on the door. "Come in," was the replied he was waiting for. He entered the office with the kid still following and looked at the Headmaster. "Professor Dumbledore, Sir. I found this little one in the Leaky Cauldron," he said quickly before the old wizard could start asking questions. "Said she was lookin' fer Sirius Black. Her name's Avaya Black," at these words, the Headmaster looked more attentively at the child, even though Hagrid didn't notice. "I thought it'd be better fer me to brin' her ter yeh, Sir."

"Very well, Hagrid," replied the old man. "Thank you for bringing her to me. I will take care of this." The half-giant started to walk back to the door and looked hesitantly at the girl before opening and leaving.

Dumbledore was still thinking about what Hagrid had told him when a piece of paper was put under his nose. "So, can you help me find Sirius Black or not?" was the little girl asking. "Well, miss Black," he said gently "can I ask why you wish to see him?" The girl looked at him, pondering what she could tell the old man and decided she better just trust him since no one else seemed willing to help her. She quickly scribbled something. "He's my father."

Dumbledore was shocked by the statement. Sirius had never had any kid, at least that he knew of. Could this child be lying? But she seemed pretty sure of what she was implying. "And where is your mother?" he asked, hoping that he could find her and get some explanation to why her daughter would make such a bold declaration. He saw the girl writing something, even though she seemed reluctant about it. "I don't know," was her answer.

"You got lost?" he assumed. She shook her head and looked at him as if she had just been insulted. "Then how is it that you don't know where she is?" he demanded. The child wrote once again and showed him her reply. "It would be too long to write, can I show you?" Dumbledore was wondering what she meant by "showing him" but nodded once, giving her leave to do so. The girl walked to him and took his head in her hands. Then he started to see...

_She was a baby, a year old approximately, and her mom was playing with her, doing weird noises with her mouth and making her wand produce beautiful sparks of colours. She was loved and happy._

_She was still a toddler, not much older than in the last memory. She was hungry and crying. Her mom pointed her wand towards her and muttered a silencing spell. She was surprised to found out that she didn't make any noise anymore. Her mom couldn't hear her, but she was so hungry. She wished she could have something to eat. Food just appeared in front of her. She started to eat, not knowing if it was her mom that had done it._

_She was a bit older again, maybe three years old. She was walking around the house. Her mom was in her room. She went toward the door and opened it slightly. "Ma?" she said softly before being hit with another silencing spell. She should have known better. She closed the door again, went in the kitchen and found some easy-to-make food. After eating, she walked to the bathroom, filled the bath with some warm water and washed herself before going to bed._

_She was five years old. She was getting dress to go out when her mom went out of her room. Not even looking at her, she sent another silencing spell and left. Avaya knew better than to try to talk with her by now. Anyways, she was now easily able to dispel the enchantment. It had taken her a couple of months to work it out, but she had finally managed it. She also left the apartment and walked to the local library to sign out some books with their audio tape counterpart. That's how she had learned to read, and even though she was getting better at it, she still wasn't confident enough to read on her own. The adults were always wondering what such a young child was doing by herself. When asked, she would always answer that her mom was ill and since the library was only a corner away and plenty of neighbours could watch her on her way, her mom did not mind. That explanation usually seemed to satisfy them._

_She was seven years old and was reading a biology book when someone knocked at the door. This always was a bad sign. Her mom, locked in her room, never went to check on the visitors and Avaya had the feeling the woman was secretly hoping that one day they would take her away. But she was smart enough that she didn't have any problem fooling the social services, no matter how much the neighbours found it weird to see the child always by herself without seeing the mother. She opened the door only to face a policeman and a man in a suit. She let them in asking the reason for their visit._

"_Are you by yourself?" asked the policeman._

"_Of course not, Sir. My mom is currently sleeping in her room," she had answered pointing at the door._

"_Could we talk with her?"_

"_I don't think so. She was pretty tired after morning lessons and she instructed me not to wake her before supper and to do my homework."_

"_So you are being home schooled?" asked the man in a suit._

"_Yes, Sir," she replied, being happy with herself for guessing right on the matter._

"_Well," the man continued, "please tell your mom to call me when she's awake," and he had given her his card._

_When the two men had left, she had known she would once again need to take this in her hands and was happy she had found long ago how to change her voice as to sound more adult in those rare occasion when her "mom" had to give a call to someone._

_She was nine years old. The social services didn't come anymore and the neighbours had stopped their incessant doubting and questioning. She had no friends, but that didn't bother her. She opened the book she had signed out a few days earlier and started learning the British Sign Language. She knew she could speak, but since she didn't have anyone to speak with, she thought she would rather keep her voice for herself._

_She was eleven years old and she was entertaining herself by changing the colours of her walls – a trick she had learned a couple of years ago – when she heard her mom going out of her room, walking past her door and leaving the flat. She wasn't curious as to where she had gone. Both of them lived under the same roof but Avaya couldn't remember when the last time her mother actually had cared about her was. She thought she would be back soon enough anyways._

_Two days passed by without her returning. Avaya wasn't worried but she did find that weird. What if her mom had actually got fed up and decided to leave for real. She slowly walked toward the woman's room only to find out that there was nothing left in there. All the possessions her mom had, even if it wasn't a lot had vanished. Avaya started looking in the drawers and, as expected, found nothing. She knew that one day her mom would leave. She was a strange kid and even if her mom seemed able to do weird things like her, she had no doubts that she was a lot weirder than her mom and that one day she would have seen enough and would simply walk away. She looked in the closet and, surprisingly, she saw a small box in one of the dark corner. She fetched the box and carefully opened it. Inside was a book that looked like a diary, an old piece of paper and an old photo._

_Looking at the piece of paper she was stunned to find her birth certificate. She had never seen her dad and her mom had never talked about him, not that her mom had talked a lot from what she could remember anyways. But now, she had a name, written there: Sirius Black. So her mom knew who her father was. She wondered why the man wasn't part of their life, and decided it was probably her mom's fault. She then looked at the photography and gasped when she saw two smiling young adults. She recognized the woman as her mom and assumed the man was her dad. She couldn't stop herself from thinking that he looked gorgeous. She then opened the book. It was indeed a diary. Her mom's diary. She started reading it._

"_Dear diary,_

_Today, I received a letter of acceptance for Hogwarts. My mom was really pleased and offered me this diary. She has high hopes for me and can't wait for me to be sorted into Slytherin. I didn't tell her that I would rather die than be in that house and that I would rather be an orphan than to be part of this family much longer. Six more years and then I can run away without being scared of them finding me..."_

"_Dear diary,_

_I was sorted in Ravenclaw! Oh, my mom is so going to have a heart attack when she learns about this. I hope it will be fatal... Even though I don't think that will happen. If only I could have been sorted in Gryffindor, it would have definitely been a deathly shock for her. I'm sure she'll find a way to rationalize me being in this House, even though she'll be disappointed. Not that I care the least about what the old hag can think. Well, at least now I can enjoin my time here. I'm so happy!"_

_Avaya skipped to the last pages, she didn't care about what her mom could write when she was a kid. She wanted to know about her dad. There! She finally found what she was looking for._

"_Dear diary,_

_It does sound stupid for me to still write here, but I guess it's hard to get rid of old habits. After all those years, I finally managed to get Sirius Black to go out with me. You do remember him, right? The handsome boy from Gryffindor! It's true that during our school year he never really paid any attention to me as you can remember, but things have now changed, and for the best. We're going out for supper with some of his friends. I would have preferred to spend the evening alone with him, but if I can get his friends to like me too, it would make things easier. I need to get prepared now._

_The supper was great and I had lots of fun with everyone. I think everything will be a lot easier since his friends seemed to like me."_

"_Dear diary,_

_I'm really getting too old for this, but I couldn't keep this to myself. I'm pregnant. It's Sirius' child. Unfortunately, we broke up and I think he doesn't really want to hear about me anymore. But that's fine. I guess I couldn't have a better present than a child from him. So I don't care if he doesn't like me anymore, I have his own souvenir growing inside me and I couldn't be happier. I will love this child more than my own life. I hope it will be a boy and it will look all the way like him... but I don't mind a girl either."_

"_Diary,_

_I can't believe what I just read in the Prophet. I can't believe I'm sharing my life with his child. What if it turns out like him? I can't even bare the idea of touching it. I can't even get rid of it since the kid is definitely magical. I have to think carefully about what to do, but I can't let it come too close, it could kill me."_

_Avaya reread the last entry. What had made her mom despise her so much, she had no idea. But one thing was sure: the woman had definitely gone mad. She didn't know if she would come back, but she couldn't take any chances right now. She took the book, her birth certificate and the photo, went to her room and started packing some stuff in her backpack. She didn't have a lot of things and most of what she needed she could simply make appear, even though she didn't know how. So she only packed what was most precious to her: the three items from the box, her walkman and her favourite audio cassettes, her crayons, her sketchbook and the sock that contained her money. Since she was seven she had been helping out some neighbours and getting paid for it, and while she had spent some to buy her precious items, all the rest was untouched. She finally put some paper and a pen in her pocket, so she could communicate with people that didn't know sign language._

_She left the apartment without looking back and started walking. She had no idea where she should go, but she knew she needed to find a place where people like her and her mom went. She had been walking for hours, even taking a bus or two, when she had noticed the strange pub. She could see it, but everyone else around didn't seem to notice. She saw that as a sign and went in. Once she had a look around, she knew she had found just the place she had been looking for._


	3. The truth

**Chapter 3  
The truth**

Dumbledore was startled when he found himself back in his office, facing the strange girl. He wasn't sure about what had just happened and he wondered if the child was some sort of Legilimens; but when you thought about it she had not tried to read his thoughts but had merely projected her memories and emotions in his mind. He couldn't stop himself from wondering what else the kid could do. From what she had shown him of her past, he could deduce that she had been using her powers since a long time and that she seemed to have a good grasp on them. But then her mother had been ignoring her since ten years, so even though she would know what she was able to do, she probably didn't really understand all the implications. He would need to talk with her. But now he had a more urgent issue to deal with.

"You can speak" he said more as an affirmation than a question.

The girl cleared her throat and answered with a hoarse voice "Yes, Sir."

"Then, I would request that you use this mean of communication in the future. I understand why you have preferred to stay quiet in the past, but this needs to change, child. Nobody in this school will throw silencing spells at you and you are expected to interact properly with your entourage since you can. Am I understood?" he lectured her.

She looked at him almost defiantly without showing any signs of contrition and answered once again "Yes, Sir." But she thought that having to answer his questions, or anyone else's, was in no way making it mandatory to speak at all when not required to. And she settled on that compromise.

The old wizard saw that there was more in the child's mind but decided not to push the matter further. "Now if you would please sit down, I believe we need to talk" he said pointing her one of the chairs in front of his office. "This could take longer than you had expected" he continued when the girl was seated. "Would you like anything to drink?"

"Water, please" she answered, her voice still hoarse.

Dumbledore summoned a glass of water and a pitcher to the table near the child and also summoned some green tea. He prepared two cups, adding a bit of honey and lemon to one and offered it to Avaya. "Tea with lemon and honey" he explained "I believe it will help with your throat."

The girl thanked him and sat back sipping her tea and waiting for him to start explaining.

Dumbledore wasn't sure how to start this. A lot of things would have to be said and some of them wouldn't be pleasant. He thought that starting all over again was probably the best course of action. "I'm sorry" he started "but I believe I didn't have the chance to introduce myself properly. I am Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry, which is the building you are actually in." At this statement, the child raised a brow in curiosity. "Now, I know you probably have a lot of questions concerning this school and the wizarding world, but if you don't mind, I would like to address the issue of your parents first."

"As you wish, Sir" she agreed.

Dumbledore still didn't know what to do with the child's strange attitude. He thought she was too conciliatory for someone of her age, but again decided to drop the matter and address the first important topic. "In one of the fragments of memory you showed me, you found your birth certificate and a photo of both your parents together. Could I please see these two documents?"

"Sure" she answered before rummaging through her backpack and giving to the Headmaster the piece of paper and the photo.

Albus looked at them carefully. From the birth certificate, he got the child's birth date: August 30, 1980, and the parents' names. He looked at the picture and confirmed that they truly were Sirius Black and Anika Johnston. He remembered Anika as one of the smartest student in Ravenclaw in her time, even though she had always seemed a bit unstable; but not to the point of inventing some silly story about her daughter's father. "Would you mind if I borrowed your mother's diary for a little while? I hope it can give some me more insight into what happened" Dumbledore asked as he gave back the photo and the document to the child.

Avaya put back the two pieces of paper in her bag and took out the diary. "You can keep it, Sir. I have no interest in her anymore" she said while handing the book over to the older wizard.

Albus was a bit stunned by the girl's retort but guessed it was to be expected considering her past and decided not to comment, even if he promised to himself to give it back to her when she would be ready. He put the book on one corner of his desk and looked back at the child. "The last thing I would like to ask before I start flooding you with stories of the past is for a bit of blood. It is not that I don't trust your mother's word, but in her absence, this is the only way to prove beyond doubt that you really are Sirius' daughter."

"What do you want me to do?" Avaya asked bored.

"Just give me your index" he instructed her. When her index was in his hand, it took out his wand, made a small cut on her finger, drew some blood in a vial and healed her index.

Avaya was quite impressed with the fact that the cut had not hurt and the stick the Headmaster had used had simply pulled a thread of blood from her finger into the vial. It was a strange thing to see and that reinforced her determination to learn more about magic.

"There you go" Dumbledore pulled her out of her thoughts. "That wasn't so bad" he said trying to reassure her even though she had not shown any fear or pain and had not complained the least.

"So, what's next, Sir?" she simply replied. It was not a small healed cut on her finger that would make her need some comfort or anything like that.

"I tell you about Sirius Black" stated Albus.

As he started talking again, Avaya listened carefully. The Headmaster decided to give a shortened version of the story since the girl didn't know anything of their world and its history, and he didn't want her to get lost in unnecessary details, well unnecessary for now.

"Sirius was in the same year here at Hogwarts than your mother. He had three best friends and they were always seen together. The four of them had been together since first year and were still all together even after school. The others' names were James Potter, Peter Pettigrew and Remus Lupin. All were Gryffindors. Some times after school, James got married and had a son. What you need to know is that those years saw the rising of an evil wizard named Lord Voldemort. He had many followers and these were dark times. Voldemort wanted to kill the Potters, so they decided to hide and only Sirius knew where they were."

The Headmaster thought this was a really naive way to explain the Fidelius Charm and the duty of the Secret-Keeper, but at least the child would understand the gravity of the situation even though she didn't know all the magical details.

"We don't know why or when it happens, but Sirius turned to the dark and betrayed his friends, giving away the Potters' location to Voldemort. This action resulted in the deaths of James and his wife. However, when he tried to kill their son, the curse backfired and Voldemort was the one to be destroyed while the child lived."

Dumbledore had noticed how the girl's features had hardened at the news of her father's betrayal. He was however satisfied to see that she seemed relieved to know that Harry had survived. Still, he knew the end of the story wasn't pleasant and hoped that what he would say next wouldn't cause the girl to become even more withdrawn.

"It's not all" he started again, noticing that her face was emotionless once again. "Once his betrayal was learned by his other friends, Peter chased him to confront him face to face with what he had done. Black killed him along with half a dozen of non wizard people that were at the wrong place at the wrong moment. Of Pettigrew, we only found a finger. Sirius was arrested on the spot and brought to the wizarding prison, Azkaban, where he still is and will stay, serving a life sentence" he finished.

"I see" answered the child after a minute or two. "I guess that's what my mother was referring to in her diary then."

A bit worried about the reaction of the girl or the lack of reaction in this case, he looked gently at her, trying to assess the situation. "Do you have any questions?" he asked her.

Avaya thought again for a couple of seconds. "So" she started looking at the Headmaster straight in the eyes, "my father is a mass murderer locked up for life and a traitor, and my mother was crazy enough to desert me thinking that I would end up like him" she summed up matter-of-factly. "What am I supposed to do now?" she simply inquired, her intense gaze on Dumbledore.

"Well that is fairly simple, my child" he replied. "Unless you don't want to, we will enrol you in Hogwarts. As for the rest of the summer, you can spend it here. And for the future ones, we will find something in due time. I believe there is nothing to worry about on this subject."

Avaya considered what the Headmaster had just said and curiosity finally revealed in her chocolate eyes. "What's this school of yours anyway? And what about the whole wizarding world thingy?" she asked impatiently.

The old man looked at her, smiling. He finally had gotten some sort of emotional reaction out of the child. "Well, now, that is another story. What would you think of listening to it while enjoying some sandwiches?" he asked as lunch appeared on his desk.

The child got up, took a sandwich and sat back, all ears on the Headmaster.


	4. Challenges

**Chapter 4**  
**Challenges**

Avaya listened as the Headmaster explained to her the life of wizards, the secrecy of the wizarding community, its rules and the way it was governed. She paid even more attention when the old wizard told her about Hogwarts, the different Houses, the life as a wizard student and the rules about underage magic. When Dumbledore was done talking, the small girl stayed quiet for a while, unsure about how to say what was on her mind.

"Sir?" she started. "I do have some Muggle money" she had quickly picked on the new words used by the Headmaster as soon as he explained them to her, "but I doubt it will be sufficient for everything until I'm done here." This was the most important problem she could think of right now.

"Don't worry about it, Miss Black. If the blood tests prove that you are indeed Sirius' daughter, I will have no problem convincing the Gringotts' goblins to let you use the money in his vault. Because you would be his daughter and because he's in prison for life that means that his assets would be yours. And if he's not your father, we have a fund that we use when orphans come to Hogwarts, which would be made available to you. That means that the school would pay for whatever you need while attending, even though in this situation you will probably have to buy used items instead of new ones."

"Good enough" Avaya recognized. She wasn't one to refuse what little help would be given if needed. "So where do I buy all the school stuff and my wand?" she asked, her curiosity awakening.

"Diagon Alley" Dumbledore answered. "I will have a professor accompany you when time comes to go there, which will be as soon as we have the blood tests' results" he added for her information.

"Ok then, how about the Sorting Hat Ceremony? How will I know which House I'm in?"

"Well, since you will be joining the first years, you will go through the Ceremony with them and..."

"No way!" Avaya interrupted the Headmaster with her cold voice. "I am not joining as a first year. That would mean that I am a year late with everyone. I'll be turning twelve in two weeks, before September 1st, therefore I should be in second year" she directed with a tone that was clear about her not being open to discussion on this subject.

Albus stared at the child and wondered why she was so opposed to the idea of being a first year and decided to compromise. He thought it would give the little girl a chance, but he didn't really expect her to succeed. "Very well child, then I might have an offer for you. We have two weeks left to the summer holidays. If you can pass the first year exams before the next school year starts, I will allow you to skip that year. There are eight classes taken by first years: Herbology, Charms, Defence against the Dark Arts, Flying, History of Magic, Potions, Transfiguration and Astronomy. Until we have the results of your blood tests, which should be in two or three days, you cannot work on any classes that requires a wand, which leaves you with: Herbology, Flying, History of Magic, Potions and Astronomy." The Headmaster waited for the information to sink in as he watched carefully to see how the child would react to a task that was to be considered impossible, mostly for a child.

Avaya listened carefully when Dumbledore made his offer. She would have eight classes to pass in two weeks. Since she had taught herself how to read, she had always been a voracious reader and she had studied lots of subjects from the books at the library. She was a very quick learner. She wasn't sure how hard learning magic stuff could be but she was up for the challenge. She had nothing to lose anyways. She then thought about what class she could possibly cover in the next 3 days.

"Fine, I accept the challenge" she said looking at the Headmaster, a decided look on her face. She would show the old man that she wasn't someone who you could mess with by offering a "compromise" that would have been seen as unfair by anyone else. "And I will start with History, Potions and Astronomy" she finished.

Albus was definitely taken aback by the child's answer. He had expected rants and whining, surely not the simple acceptance he just had received. Had he underestimated the little lady?

"As you wish, Miss Black. And how do you wish to split your days between those three classes?" he asked her assuming she probably already had a plan of action.

"Well, Sir, if I could get my hands on the History books for your first year students, I intend to be reading that in the mornings. I can do Potions during the afternoons and finish with Astronomy at the end of the day" she offered. She knew she needed less sleep than an average person, but she wasn't about telling that to the Headmaster. If she could get the school books, the classes that were mostly theory would be easy: nothing to practice, just lots of reading.

The Headmaster looked at the clock in one corner of his office. In three hours it would already be time for supper. He had not realized how much he had talked earlier. "I believe Madam Pince has some copies in the library" he told her about the school books. "What about I show you around, first your quarters and then the key sections of the school? I will need to talk with the teachers about our agreement and then everything should be settled when we meet again for supper."

"That's good with me, Headmaster" Avaya answered while getting on her feet, ready for the tour.

Albus brought the girl to the rooms that were above his office, explaining to her that even though the teachers had some rooms to themselves, usually near their classroom, they also had access to rooms in his quarters. He showed her the apartment that would be hers until the start of the school year. It was spacious; Avaya had her own bedroom and bathroom and even a small living room with a fireplace. The old wizard then took her around the key points of the school: the potion classroom, the greenhouse, the astronomy tower, the other important classrooms and the teachers' lounge. They passed by the Great Hall and finished their errand in the library.

"Can I leave you here, Miss Black?" he asked after introducing her to the librarian and informing her of what the child was looking for.

"Of course, Sir. I'll see you again at supper in the Great Hall" she simply said before following the woman. She didn't need him to stay. Libraries were probably the only places she could truly refer to as "home".

Dumbledore left the child in Madam Pince's care and walked back towards his office. He needed to call a staff meeting to let the teachers know about Avaya Black.

While the child was in the school library, her nose already in _A History of Magic_, Albus was having a talk with the school professors. He explained to them that they now had a guest and told them briefly about her history. Most of the eyes Albus met were filled with shock when they heard of what the girl had been through so far. He also informed them about her possible father and about the fact that he was expecting the results from the Ministry in two or three days. When he gave explanations on the agreement he had reached with the child, the looks on the faces changed to show disbelief.

"But Albus" Minerva started "you know pretty well that this is an impossible task you have given her" she objected.

"Well, Minerva, I wouldn't be so sure" he answered mysteriously. "Miss Black has been teaching herself all that she knows from reading and writing to Merlin knows what else. I'm not sure if she is going to succeed, but she accepted the agreement without complaining and she surely seemed determined to skip first year. I truly believe that this child has no concept of what 'impossible' means."

All the teachers stared at him in awe. All, except Severus. He wasn't about to believe anything a child could say and if this Black joined Potter and his friends, they would definitely be his death, he thought. He couldn't wait to prove to the arrogant brat that she wasn't so smart after all.

"Minerva, Severus, Pomona, Rolanda, Aurora, Filius, you will be required to test the girl on your respective classes, and teach her when she ask you too. I believe that she intends to learn about History of Magic by herself, so Minerva, I would ask that you watch her when she is ready to take the exam. And since Gilderoy is not yet on the ground, Severus, I want you to teach Defence against the Dark Arts to the child" assigned Dumbledore.

All teachers nodded in agreement in the exception of Severus who stared disgustedly at the Headmaster. He was already asked to take his precious summer time to teach to Sirius Black's very likely offspring and now he was asked to take double duty? That kid would definitely spend the worst time ever in his company.

As if Albus had read his thoughts, once again, he looked sharply at Snape as he gave his last directives. "Now, I don't need to remind you to keep in mind what this child has been through when dealing with her. She is quite uncomfortable with others, doesn't talk willingly and doesn't seem comfortable with expressing her emotions. If you have difficulties with her, I would ask that you come immediately to me. But from what I have seen, she is eager to learn, so as long as you give her a chance, she should prove a good student. And I should let you know that she decided to start the next three days with History of Magic in the morning, Potions in the afternoon and Astronomy at night."

Once all the details were settled, everyone headed to the Great Hall for supper, and although they wouldn't admit it, they were all looking forward to meet Avaya Black, even Severus, even though it was for different reasons.

* * *

Avaya had read four chapters in the History book by supper. Madam Pince had explained to her that some school books were used for more than one school year. So she knew she had to read fourteen chapters in _A History of _Magic and seven in _Magical Drafts and Potions_. Her reading had been interesting so far, and she couldn't wait to learn more. If she had calculated properly, she would still need five hours to finish the ten chapters left and would be ready to take the History test on Tuesday morning. She knew she read faster than normal people, but always associated it with the weird stuff she could do. She didn't mind, since it would be a really handy talent in the next two weeks. Once the History exam passed, she wouldn't have to worry about that class anymore, not that she really worried about any of them. History of Magic made a good Sunday reading she thought. Maybe she could go find some nice spot outside after supper and read in the sunlight for a couple of hours.

She was reviving some of the historical events she had read when she arrived at the Great Hall. This was really the worrying part: all those strangers that would probably talk to her and ask her questions and expect her to answer. She took a deep breath, calmed down, and as she did, her face became emotionless again, as it always did when she had to deal with interpersonal relationship settings.

When she entered, she immediately noticed the Headmaster, sitting in the middle of the long table. As she walked towards him, he welcomed her and told her to take the empty seat on his left. Once she was seated he introduced the teachers to her. To his right were Professor McGonagall – Transfiguration, Sprout – Herbology, Hooch the Flying Instructor, Babbling – Study of Ancient Runes, Kettleburn – Care of Magical Creatures, Hagrid (she recognized him) the Keeper of Keys and Grounds. To her left were Professor Snape, teaching Potions even though he would also be teaching her Defence against the Dark Arts since Lockhart wasn't around, Flitwick – Charms, Sinistra – Astronomy, Vector – Arithmancy, Burbage – Muggle Study and Madam Pomfrey, the school nurse. The Headmaster added that there were also Professor Trelawney, teaching Divination, but she barely left her tower, and Professor Binns for History of Magic who was a ghost.

Avaya memorized all the names, associating them with the appropriate face. She nodded carefully at each one of them as they were introduced. When all the formalities were completed, they started eating, and to her relief, no one tried to make a conversation with her.

Even though a lot of questions went through her mind such as how did the food get on the table and where did it come from and why was the ceiling like the outside sky, she preferred to keep quiet. She figured she could always found the answers by herself anyways. When she was done eating, she looked around. The professors were sill eating and talking to each other. She didn't know if she was supposed to wait for everyone to be done or if she could just leave, so she compromised and got her History of Magic book outside of her bag and started reading again.

Severus saw the child pulling a book out of her bag and as much as he didn't like helping the kid, he figured that getting rid of her was more convenient. "Miss Black?" he said with his usual silky cold tones.

The child looked at him. "Sir?" she asked.

"You do know that you are free to go when you are done eating if you excuse yourself before leaving, don't you?"

"No, I didn't know, Professor Snape" she answered "but thank you for informing me." She had noticed the man's snarky tone and she guessed that the Professor had some issues of his own and that sarcasm was his way to deal with them, like playing mute was hers. She stood up and turned to Dumbledore. "Sir, if you'll excuse me" she said not looking at anyone else than the Headmaster even though all the eyes were on her.

"Of course, Miss Black. I will see you around later."

As she turned around to leave, Severus stopped her with another "Miss Black" of his cold voice. He had been surprised by the polite answer from the child and by her using his name already, but he thought she must have remembered it for some obscure reason such as disgust or hatred.

"Professor?" she asked.

"You will read chapters one to four for our class tomorrow. And I will be waiting for you at one in the Potion classroom" he stated. To his disbelief, the child simply agreed. He had been expecting complaints over the amount of reading she would need to do or simply for being ordered around, like her supposed dad would have done, but he was gobsmacked by her so out of character reaction. Not that he really knew the child's personality, but he assumed that she would be all the way like her father. Just like Potter was a copy of his.

Avaya noticed shocked on Snape's face but simply ignored it as she started walking away again. She had barely made a couple of steps when she was stopped again by a woman's soft voice. "Professor Sinistra?" she turned towards the other professor.

"My dear" she started "I would like to see you at 2200hrs in the astronomy tower tomorrow. There is no book for my class, but I would like to test your knowledge of astronomy before we start." Avaya nodded. She had read books about astronomy, but she wasn't sure if it would do any good since they were all Muggle books. "I'll be there, Ma'am" she answered before finally leaving the Great Hall.

Severus could not believe his ears: the child had also remembered Aurora's name. He wondered if she was some sort of Granger's clone and this thought made him shudder. If he had thought that having the Black girl befriend the Potter brat was a bad omen, he was wrong, this could definitely be worse. Still brooding dark thoughts over impossible children invading his life, Severus finished his supper and headed back to his dungeons. On his way he saw the small girl sitting near the lake, her nose in a book. He just had had an idea for the arrogant brat. Tomorrow would be a good day, he decided.

* * *

Avaya had gone outside after supper and had started reading the Potions manual. She could easily read those four chapters before it got dark, and she was right. Two hours later she had finished the given assignment. She found the subject fascinating and was looking forward to her practical lessons. She started reading the last 3 chapters while walking back to her quarters. When she was done, the sun was setting outside and the sky had started to darken but it still had dark orange hues at the horizon. She looked at the wristwatch she had once found on the sidewalk and repaired by magic and noticed that there was three more hours to go before midnight, her usual bedtime. She only needed five hours of sleep, six on the bad days. She had learnt very young to reduce her sleep pattern and get the most out of it. That habit was born out of fear of desertion, and even when she had realized that it didn't matter whether her mom abandoned her or not considering that she didn't care about her anyways, the habit had stuck with her.

Madam Pince had been nice enough to lend her a _One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi_ saying that she might need it to check reference for Potions even though the book was for Herbology and she opened the book. She immediately noticed that it was some sort of encyclopaedia divided in different sections for herbs and fungi, stating useful info such as their dangerousness level, how to harvest them, their uses and properties, etc. She started looking through it for the ingredients she had seen in the Potions book. Once she was satisfied with her findings, she went to bed. It was almost midnight and she was right on schedule.

The following morning, Avaya woke up around five and picked up her History book again and read four more chapters before going for a shower and for breakfast in the Great Hall. Dumbledore was already there with some other professors, but not all of them were present. She took back the same seat than the night before and cleared her throat as she looked at the Headmaster.

"Sir" she said and continued when he looked at her "I will be done reading the first year content of _A History of Magic_ this morning and would like to be tested on this subject tomorrow morning and I would also like to start on Herbology once it will be done."

Minerva and Pomona were also looking up at the girl and their mouth dropped when they heard that the girl had read three hundred pages in such a short time. Albus looked at them, his intense gaze asking them silently if they were ready.

"Not a problem, Miss Black" said the Transfiguration teacher "I will be the one watching you while you write your exam. You will have one hour to answer the different questions. I will also be marking it" she instructed.

"Thank you, Professor McGonagall" Avaya responded before looking at Professor Sprout.

Pomona was still in shock when she noticed the girl staring at her. She seemed to be waiting for her own directives and shook herself mentally. "Very well, Miss Black, I will see you tomorrow at ten in the Greenhouse. If you have time, you should go get the book _One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi_ from the school library and read the introduction" she informed her.

"I already did, Professor Sprout" she told the witch. "I actually skimmed through the book last night when I was looking for more information on some ingredients that appeared in the Potions book" she explained.

"Oh! Well, then you can probably skim through again and read the entries that classify as inoffensive" she suggested, stunned once again.

"I will, Professor. Thank you."

Albus was positively surprised to see that the girl had interacted with two more teachers and that she had said more than what was required from her. He looked at the small girl as she was eating and took the time to examine her thoroughly. If she wasn't Sirius daughter, she still had hair like his: wavy black hair that was falling to the middle of her back. He had already noted that she didn't have his grey blue eyes, but the dark brown of her mom's. She probably had both of her parents' learning ability, but she had without doubt something of Sirius in her determined gaze; like nothing could stop her. He would be damned, he thought, if this wasn't Sirius Black's daughter.

* * *

Avaya had eaten her breakfast, finished her History reading, read some more Herbology and went for lunch. When lunch was over, she had less than an hour left before Potions, which she spent reading some more Herbology. Before leaving for her first real class, she tied down her hair in a ponytail as best as she could. She thought it would be better not to be distracted by it if they were going to brew potions.

Severus had been waiting patiently for the child while preparing mentally his course of action. He would first give her a lesson about arrogant behaviour while testing what she had read... and maybe not read, he thought wickedly. When the girl entered the classroom, he shut the door with a flick of his wand. He thought of it as his first step in his intimidation plan, but to his surprise, the girl didn't seem to be intimidated, or shocked, or scared. He then jumped to step two: his usual first year first potion class speech, slightly modified for this special occasion.

"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making" he began. "As there is little foolish wand-waving here, you might hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses... I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death — but that might be having too much faith in your abilities." He looked at the brown eyes locked on him, expecting to see some outrage, but all he could read was expectation. And maybe something else that reminded him of Dumbledore... as if she could read through you like the old coot.

Seeing that the girl would not give him the satisfaction of interjecting, he went to his third step. He smiled inwardly as he remembered the scene from a year ago. "Black!" he said suddenly. "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

Avaya knew immediately that this was a trick question, she had read the info, but it wasn't in the four chapters he had asked her to read. One for not pretending to ignore something she knew, she looked at him straight in the eyes and answered. "It makes a powerful sleeping potion known as the Draught of Living Death, Sir."

Ok,he thought, she had read more than the four chapters assigned, definitely a Granger's trait. Let's see if she could remember more details. "Where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?" he asked.

Avaya thought about how answering this question, and just when Severus was about to instruct her to say it if she didn't know, she surprised him with her not so much Granger's answer. "Sir, I would say that you probably have one in you potion cabinet as it is a cure to most poison. However, as I am unsure about the way your question was directed, I also want to specify that the bezoar is a stone that can be found in a goat's stomach."

Severus was stunned. She definitely knew the answer even though she had not just recited whatever she had read in the book word for word, but he could not decide if the first part of her answer was impertinence or something else. "What this cheek just now, Miss Black?" he demanded raising an eyebrow at her.

"Sir?" Avaya realized he had misunderstood her statement. "Uh... it was definitely not, Sir" she explained, choosing her words carefully. "Your question was unclear about the answer you wanted, Sir. You asked me where I would look if you told me to find a bezoar, not to tell you where it comes from. Considering it is a cure to most poison, I thought that you must have some in your potion cabinet in case of emergencies. You are a Potion Master after all. It would only be natural for you to have that kind of stuff in case something happens in the classroom. Therefore, if I were to look for one, this is where I would check first."

Avaya didn't once look away from him and while she was talking, he noticed that her emotionless mask had fallen and that she seemed sad. Why? He didn't know and he honestly didn't care. He sneered at the insolent child and asked his final question; sure that she wouldn't know the answer this time. "Fine. What is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?"

"There's none, Sir. They are both the same plant." She didn't know why, but the professor didn't seem happy that she knew the answers and she hoped she wouldn't get in trouble for it.

Severus was angry. He had not been able to get only one hint of hesitation from the impudent kid and that enraged him. She had definitely read more than the four chapters he had asked her, but that wasn't the problem. Oh well, if she thought she was so good, he'll show her that she wasn't. "I see that you have read your chapters, probably all the ones for the first school year actually" he scorned. "Let's see if you can brew me a really simple potion, the boil cure. You will find the ingredients you need in the cabinet over there and you can use the cauldron and accessories in front of you."

Avaya went to the cupboard, grabbed what she needed and walked back to her table. As she started weighing and crushing the necessary ingredients, Snape growled at her. She looked at him, certain that she was doing everything as she had read in the textbook. "Sir?"

"Would you care to tell me, Miss Black, why you are not using your Potion book as reference to make sure you do not blow up my classroom?" he inquired with a dangerous look on his face.

"Well, Sir" she hesitated "I... uh, I just remember the instructions and forgot about the book, Sir? Should I be taking it out of my bag?"

Severus was furious. "No, Miss Black, I am really curious in regards to your ability to remember the detailed instructions after reading them once" he said his voice even colder. "Carry on with your potion, but if only one little thing is out of place, if you make one tiny mistake, you will be scrubbing cauldrons all night."

She didn't dare point to him that she had astronomy class that night, but she smiled and concentrated once more on her ingredients. Snape watched her carefully, ready to stop everything at the first sign of error, but he was quite surprised when he found himself in front of a really well brewed boil cure potion. He could have been his usual and make some snarky comments but when he looked at the child and at the way she looked at him, he just could not. "Good enough" he simply stated while in fact he was astonished by the child's show of talent. This was, after all, the first potion she brewed in her life. "Take a break, fifteen minutes, and when you come back you will prepare something a bit harder."

The girl smiled as if it was Christmas and got out, probably to go to the bathroom. The Potion Master just didn't know what to think anymore. He had to admit that maybe he had been wrong all along. In the last hour, hell in the last day, even though he had been his usual snarky bastard with the girl, she had not retorted, she had not been impertinent, she had not even complained! And when he had thought she had made a cheeky comment, she had tried to explain his misunderstanding a sad look on her face, as if it had hurt her to be considered insolent by the Potion Master. And when she looked at him and smiled, as if she was admiring him, it reminded him of Lily. Her eyes had had the same glimmer when she had asked him about the magical world. The only difference was that this child was not as lively as Lily and when he thought of what Albus had told them, he could understand how her life of neglect had brought her to be what she was. Maybe they had more in common than she had with her unknown supposed father. He suddenly felt bad for being such an arse to the kid and now realized all the potential and possibilities.

When she came back, fifteen minutes later, his thoughts had been sorted out, but he was a bit disappointed to see that the small girl had her own mask back on her face.

"Miss Black, do you remember the instructions for a Fogetfulness Potion?"

"Yes, Sir"

"Then this is what I want you to brew. And once again, without your book" he directed.

She was a bit surprised. Did the professor trust her not to blow up his classroom now? She didn't ask any question, but looked proudly at the Potion Master and agreed before setting down to work. Severus looked at Avaya as she was working and he thought that the girl had a gift in Potion. Too bad she would probably end up in Gryffindor or he would have suggested taking her as apprentice. An hour or so later, when she was done, he inspected her potion. "Miss Black, that potion would deserve an outstanding." The girl beamed at him, her mask falling. He cleaned up the cauldron of a wave of his wand. "I believe it is time for supper. You can go."

She took what was left of the ingredient on the table and put them back in the cabinet and headed out of the classroom. As she was leaving, she turned to face him. "Aren't you coming, Professor Snape?" she asked.

Severus was surprised at the question, was the girl asking him to go with her? Why would she want to be in his company? Before he knew what he was doing, he was on his feet and walking in the hallways next to the child. When they arrived at the Great Hall, Albus looked at him smiling, his eyes sparking like fireworks.

They had started eating when he noticed that the girl had not spoken once since they had left his classroom and when he looked at her carefully, he saw that her mask was back on. He turned to Dumbledore. "Headmaster" he said and continued when Albus looked at him "Miss Black has passed first year Potions with an O and will not need any more Potions classes from me until the start of the new school year." He expected to see relief on the child's face when she looked up at the announcement, but he didn't understand what he saw.

Before Albus started asking question, Avaya was speaking her mind. "But, Sir, I don't wanna give up Potions!" she said, alarmed in her voice as if she had been betrayed, her eyes locked on Snape's.

"Miss Black, you are not giving up, you passed. There is nothing left for me to teach you as a first year. The last potion you brew today was the one I asked my student last year to brew as their final exam. You prepared it to the perfection, without hesitation or the need for written instructions."

"But, Sir, I don't want to stop Potions. I really enjoy this class..." she admitted shyly with sad tones lowering her eyes to stare at her plate.

Severus was taken aback by the girl's confession and he just couldn't find anything to answer. Albus was still looking at him, a proud smile on his face and when he saw that the younger man was too shocked to answer to the girl, he took the lead.

"Miss Black" he started, but the girl didn't look at him. She just kept staring at her plate. "I believe Professor Snape has a point. If he judges that you already grasp the first year Potions class content, your time would be better employed with another class that will perhaps require more practice. I am sure however that Severus would not mind having an assistant if you enjoy brewing potions that much. It will just have to be done outside of class hours" he suggested. Severus was even more shocked when he heard what the old coot proposed. But when he thought about it, he had to admit that he rather liked the idea of having such a skilled assistant, even if it would be for only two weeks. He knew she would definitely start hating him when she would join Gryffindor.

"The Headmaster is right, Miss Black" he stated. "An assistant could be quite useful." The girl looked timidly at him, unsure.

"I would love that, Sir" she said, a hesitant smile on her lips.

And so it began. After supper, she asked if she could help him until her Astronomy lesson and when he suggested she might want to take a nap as to be rested for her History test the next morning, she simply stared at him as if he was an alien. He didn't push the matter and showed her how to brew a minor calming potion, explaining each steps and giving detailed instructions. He knew from experience that Pomfrey would need some new stock for the beginning of the year with all the new students that would be home sick. When he was done his potion and had bottled it in individual portions, he told Avaya that both of them would now brew it, and she started working, all her concentration on the liquid in her cauldron. He was surprised once more when he realized that she had not taken any notes and had remembered all of his directives. Her potion was once again brewed perfectly. The girl definitely had a gift, he decided.

Avaya had been enjoying the couple of hours with the Potion Master and was now walking towards the astronomy tower. When she arrived, Sinistra made her sit down and asked her questions about the stars, the planets and their movements. Avaya new about the constellations, their names and what they were supposed to look like, but she had no "field experience" in that matter, nor did she know anything about planetary movements in the sky. Of course she knew the whole solar system was orbiting around the sun and that each planet had their own course taking them different period of time to complete, but she couldn't spot a planet in the sky if there was one. She actually never had left the apartment at night and with the city's lights, you wouldn't have seen much of the stars anyways. So Professor Sinistra brought the girl to the roof of the tower, installed the telescope and started with the most simple of her subject: the stars. She showed the different constellations to her and the important stars in the sky. Before she called it a night, she asked the girl if she remembered what they had studied that night. When the child repeated all she had learned, she was impressed with her learning ability. She told her that the next night they would talk about planets and sent her off to bed. That night, Avaya dreamt of potions made from pieces of the beautiful starry sky.

* * *

The next day had passed quite fast. She had written her History of Magic test and had started Herbology. Professor Sprout was impressed with her knowledge of plants and their uses and decided to bring her in the greenhouse. While books were good, to be able to see the plants in the flesh was even better. Pomona knew that the girl would be ready to take the Herbology test in a day or two. Usually first year students didn't even went in the Greenhouses. But it had seemed appropriate, with only one student, to give her lectures and test the girl with the real stuff around.

Avaya had enjoyed Herbology, but not as much as Potions. There was something about brewing potions that reminded her of art and music; it was calming. On lunch time, it was decided that she would have her first flying lesson that afternoon, and it was with a knot in her stomach that she walked to the Flying Grounds. Madam Hooch was already there, two brooms on the ground. Avaya didn't have any problem when ordering the broom up, but she was still nervous. That means of transportation didn't seem safe to her. She mounted the broom, looking carefully at Madam Hooch as she gave her instructions and demonstrated. Avaya hovered a couple of feet from the ground and Madam Hooch joined her. They then practiced directing the broom while flying low. The child was feeling more and more comfortable with the broom and when they headed for supper, she felt confident about real flying practice next time.

At supper, Professor McGonagall had announced that the girl had obtained another Outstanding, in History of Magic this time, and Avaya knew that she was doing well so far. The real test, however, would come with the classes that required a wand. When they were done eating, the girl once again went to the dungeons where she learnt to brew a sleeping potion, before heading to the Astronomy towers. There she was taught about the planets' movements and when and where to spot them in the sky. She was dismissed to go to bed around one in the morning.

When she woke up a bit passed six, she knew that today was THE day. Unless the Ministry of Magic had some administration issues, today, she would know.


	5. A day of Revelations

**Chapter 5  
A day of revelations**

When Albus woke that day, he knew that the owl should be soon on its way. He showered, got dressed and stopped by his office to finish some paperwork he was working on before heading for breakfast. As he was leaving his office, the Ministry's owl came to the window. He carefully took the parchment, read it and headed down to the Great Hall. He was as usual one of the first to get there with Minerva and started with a coffee while waiting for the child and her teachers for the day to arrive.

Avaya arrived for breakfast not long after the Headmaster, her mask well in place and sat in her usual seat. She had noticed in the last two days that Professor Snape was always one of the last to arrive and that he always seemed grumpy until he had had his first coffee. This thought, as she looked at his empty seat, made her laughed inwardly. When she looked at the Headmaster, she knew that he had received the results. The older wizard was so easy to read sometimes...

Albus had noticed the small girl when she had sat next to him, and even though he would have preferred to wait for Severus before starting, he figured it didn't really matter anyways. "Miss Black" he started looking at the child "I received an owl from the Ministry this morning with the expected results. I would like to see you in my office at nine." She simply nodded and he turned towards Pomona and Rolanda. "Professor Sprout, Madam Hooch, I am afraid we will have to cancel your lessons for today." Both women confirmed this was not a problem and went back to eating and chatting. He turned back again at the child who had obviously listened and explained to her that she would be going to Diagon Alley after their meeting.

She nodded again and remembering that the Headmaster wanted a teacher to accompany her, she wished it would be Professor Snape, but didn't say anything about it to the older wizard.

Dumbledore had been expecting the girl to request for Professor Snape as accompanying adult and was a bit surprised when she didn't say anything. He wondered why she had not asked and thought she might still be hopeful to go by herself, which he would not allow.

At nine, Avaya was sitting in the Headmaster's office and was patiently waiting for him to inform her of the results.

"Miss Black, as I told you earlier, I received an owl from the Ministry with the results of your blood test. It has been proved beyond doubt that you are indeed Sirius Black's daughter. The Ministry sent an official letter certifying this fact. This should prove useful in Gringotts and in the event that someone questions the matter" Albus simply stated handing the letter to the child.

Avaya took the piece of paper, folded it and put it in her pocket. "So I assume you already informed the Goblins of my situation?"

"Yes, they have been made aware that Sirius' vault is now yours and they shouldn't cause any problem. But please bring the Ministry's letter with you just in case." She nodded once again, giving the Headmaster an annoyed glance to make him understand that she didn't need to be reminded of something so obvious. Albus waited for her to start talking but when it became clear that she had no intention of doing so, he sighed and asked "Do you have any question, Miss Black?"

Avaya had plenty of questions but none that she would ask the old coot. She was still fairly sure she could find most of the answers by herself and she still didn't really trust the Headmaster or liked him. She felt like he was patronizing her, and Merlin knows that she hated being patronized. "No, Sir, I don't have any question" she replied dryly.

"Well then, be at the front gates at ten thirty. A professor will meet you there and go with you to Diagon Alley."

"Yes, Sir" she answered as she left the office.

Dumbledore didn't know what to think of the child. He realized that her growing up isolated and without the care and the affection of a parent was probably one of the main reasons for her behaviour, but there were other things that made him feel uneasy; her power was one of those. He had seen it through her memories and he didn't doubt that they would witness it when she started practicing with a wand. But more than the power, the control she had on it was even more impressive for a witch her age. The whole situation and uneasiness was too familiar for him to ignore. He would need to keep an eye on the child, or at least have someone keep an eye on her for him.

Severus was heading to the Headmaster's office. Albus had summoned him and asked that he be there as soon as possible. The Potion Master hated being summoned. It always implied that either he had done something wrong or something was going to be asked of him. But since he didn't really have a choice in the matter, he was still heading to the Headmaster's office. Once he was sitting and had the chance to have a good look at the old coot, he knew it was actually the second option and felt like a trapped rabbit.

"Severus, my boy, I have something to ask you, but you probably already guessed that much" he started winking at Snape. "Our young Miss Black seems to be comfortable enough around you, I noticed."

"I believe we have a common interest in Potions, Headmaster" snorted Snape.

"A common interest perhaps, or maybe a bit more of something else" Albus continued, an annoying sparkle in his eyes. "I need you to accompany her to Diagon Alley, Severus."

Snape looked carefully at Dumbledore. He knew there were more to this than what was told and he wondered if the Headmaster would speak his mind or not. "From what I know of the child, which is little Albus, she won't appreciate to have an adult tagging along for something she can do very well by herself."

"I know, my boy. It's why I'm asking you. Like it or not, Miss Black appreciates you. And I hope that if you are the one going with her, she will oppose less resistance and open up a bit more."

"What is it that you are not telling me, Headmaster?"

Albus looked at him but his yes had lost all their sparkles. He looked old and sad. "My boy, I want you to keep an eye on the child. There is something I haven't told any of you, but you will discover it soon enough so there is no point in trying to conceal it. Avaya Black is a very powerful witch, Severus. So much power and so much control in someone so young and with her past could go very wrong. I need someone to mentor her and make sure she doesn't turn to the easy path instead of the right one. And of all the people around her, you are probably the one she trust the most."

Severus was shocked that Albus would think it was necessary to spy on a kid. He had realized that she wasn't normal, even though he had not felt her power, which meant that she had indeed a good control on it if she really was powerful; but to think that the almost twelve years old child could be dark or would turn to it because of her past was a bit overboard. Even though Snape couldn't speak his mind on the Headmaster's thought process, he still had a problem with the request. "Headmaster, if you want me to keep an eye on her, I will do so. But even you must realize that once school starts and she joins as a second year, I will not be able to do that anymore. She will probably end up in Gryffindor or Ravenclaw like her parents and then Merlin only knows what is going to happen."

"You're right, my boy, but we can see about that when it happens. I won't pretend to know her or to be able to predict her, but I have a feeling that no matter which House she goes to, she will surprise us. So, even if it is only for the next two weeks, I would like you to keep an eye on her and try to make her open up a bit more, even if it is only to you. I won't force you, my boy, but you're the best one for this task right now" finished Albus looking hopefully at Snape.

Severus thought about everything the Headmaster had just told him and nodded once. He had to agree that it wasn't healthy for the child to be so withdrawn and distant with everyone. She was distant even with him; now that he thought about it, she barely talked at all during their brewing sessions. She looked happy, but she never actually talked about anything else than potions. Snape wouldn't really mind in general, the quieter the annoying school brats were the best he would feel. But he had to admit that this child was different from the other ones the castle would soon be filled with, and even if he would never admit it aloud, he did care. Also, if she really was powerful like Albus seemed to think, it could be a good thing to try to mentor her from the start. He was actually surprised that Dumbledore didn't want to do it himself. He would have to think more about that later, there must have been a reason for it.

"Thank you, my boy. If you have any problem or simply need to talk about the child, don't hesitate to come to me, but I'm sure you'll do just fine. She'll be waiting for you at the front gates at ten thirty. Here is her first year letter with the list of everything that she needs." Albus gave the papers to Severus and thanked him once more before he left his office.

Severus wasn't sure what Avaya would think of him accompanying her on her errand, but he figured that since he had no choice in going to Diagon Alley, he might as well restock his potion ingredients. And hopefully, it would make the child understand that he wasn't babysitting her. And with a bit of luck, he might be able to learn something useful from the kid during this expedition. Severus smiled inwardly as he walked back to his quarters to make a shopping list.

* * *

Avaya had gotten ready for the shopping trip. She had emptied her backpack and only kept the sock with her muggle money (you never know) and the Ministry's certificate. She still arrived five minutes early at the front gates, from what her watch was telling her. She looked around to make sure that no one was there to see or hear her, and looked on the ground for a branch. She took one that was a good size and concentrated. If she didn't visualized properly what she wanted, it would be transformed with mistakes. She closed her eyes and imagined a guitar. When she opened her eyes, a guitar was laying in her hands. She sat down on the grass, and started playing the song she had in her head. It didn't take long before she started singing as well.

"_I have a dream, a song to sing / To help me cope with anything..._"

Snape was heading to the front gates when he heard the music. He couldn't quite make out the words yet, and he didn't know what to think of it considering that only the Black kid and he were supposed to be around. So he kept walking towards the sound but made his footsteps even quieter and stayed hidden in the shadow of the trees. When he finally reached the scene, he simply didn't know what to think. His brain stopped working as soon as it had analyzed what his eyes saw: Avaya Black was at the front gates, a guitar in her hands (where could she have found that?) and singing a song that sounded vaguely familiar. But what shocked him even more was the look on her face. For the first time since she had come into their lives, Avaya Black looked like a normal happy eleven years old child. He decided he wanted to hear the lyrics, hopefully they would tell him a great deal about the girl's state of mind.

"_I have a dream, a fantasy / To help me through reality / And my destination makes it worth the while / Pushing through the darkness still another mile / I believe in angels / Something good in everything I see / I believe in angels / When I know the time is right for me / I'll cross the stream - I have a dream / I'll cross the stream - I have a dream._"_  
_

Severus was hypnotized by the child's voice. It was true that he was a novice in terms of criticizing singers and musicians, but still, he felt like this was the most beautiful sound ever. And when he paid attention to the words, he wondered how Albus could have thought one second that the girl would turn Dark. How was it that he had not seen how pure and innocent she was behind her mask? What had made him so blind to the soul and heart in front of him and only able to see a potentially dangerous and powerful witch? Yes, it was true that the kid was acting like she didn't trust anyone, but to be honest, she didn't have had a lot of experience in trusting and most of the adults that had been around her were not really trustworthy anyways. But if she was able to sing such a beautiful song, mean all the words in it and smile like she was living in a fairytale, that had to count for something, didn't it?

Between the two verses, Avaya closed her eyes and turned her face to the sky, still playing guitar. She was smiling widely like there was nothing wrong in the world or in her life. And then she started singing once more.

"_I have a dream, a song to sing / To help me cope with anything / If you see the wonder of a fairy tale / You can take the future even if you fail / I believe in angels / Something good in everything I see / I believe in angels / When I know the time is right for me / I'll cross the stream - I have a dream/ I'll cross the stream - I have a dream._"

Severus heard the last notes in the child's voice and stayed hidden a bit longer so she wouldn't suspect that he had heard her. He knew she probably wouldn't appreciate having spectators, and since he was still a bit early, it was fine to wait a minute or two. He looked around to make sure he had been the only one to witness this small miracle and was relieved when his inspection confirmed it. However, his relief was transformed in shock once more when he saw her transfiguring the guitar into a branch and throwing it away.

Avaya felt good after the singing. It had been a little while since she had last sung. She would have to do it more often. Playing piano was great and soothing, but singing came even deeper from the soul. At least she could still sing. All the missed practices had not affected her talent and she realized she still enjoyed it as much. She gave back its original form to the guitar and put back her mask on her face. She didn't want whoever would accompany her to see her emotions. It wouldn't be smart to do so as long as she didn't know what to think of the teachers and if she could trust them.

She was a bit surprised to see the Potions Master walk towards her. She had expected Professor McGonagall. She thought that Dumbledore would send her instead of Snape. It would be stupid to think that he had not noticed how they got along with her brewing potions during most of her free time. But she had also noticed that Snape didn't seem really sociable and that nothing could force him out of his dungeons. Obviously, she was wrong, and that intrigued her.

Severus could see that the child's mask was back in place, but he also noticed that her eyes twinkled when she saw him. Whether it was because of his presence or because of her singing episode, he couldn't tell. She nodded at him as he came closer and he nodded back. She simply followed him when he walked by her and through the front gates. He had to admit that he liked that side of her: he never needed to repeat himself and she seemed to know what was expected of her even if he said nothing. Maybe he should worry about that, now that he thought more about it. It wasn't really typical for a child to act that way. Even his Slytherins were not that much compliant. But then, since when had that child acted anything like normal? Oh well, maybe he should just settle in watching her and try to understand more of what was going on in that head of hers. _For now, at least._

"We will be apparating away in muggle London, near the Leaky Cauldron. That's where you found Hagrid. Hold my hand tight" he instructed her when they were outside Hogwarts and its anti-apparition wards.

Avaya had no idea what "apparating" meant. So far, she had flown on a broom and used a portkey. She knew she would discover the meaning soon enough so she didn't ask for any details. She grabbed the man's hand and braced herself for whatever was coming. What she wasn't prepared for was the feeling that immersed her when Snape squeezed her hand back. All of the sudden, she wanted to hug the man, which was ridiculous. She had never needed hugs, neither had she received any. So why would she start now? The silly thoughts and questions were all pushed away abruptly when she felt like her entire body was squeezed in a very tight rubber tube. As quickly as it had come, the feeling went away and she found herself in a dark alley.

She let go of the professor's hand, looked up at him and raised a brow. "Don't you, wizards, have any means of transportation that actually feel safe and not uncomfortable?"

Snape looked blankly at the girl. Was it humour that he heard in her voice? He also raised a brow in response. "Very few that would fit both those requirements, Miss Black. If you're ready, we may want to keep moving." She nodded and felt into step next to him. They walked to the Leaky Cauldron and straight through to the back door. Avaya looked carefully when Severus tapped the wall tree times at the same spot. You never knew if this info might be useful later. When the hole in the wall formed an archway, professor and student crossed the portal.

Avaya couldn't believe what she saw on the other side of the magical wall; she couldn't count how many shops there were or what exactly they were selling, all the wizards and witches walking around in their wizarding attire. That's when she realized how much she had to learn about this world and her new life. She diligently followed Snape to a snowy white building towering all neighbouring shops.

"Gringotts" announced Snape as they started climbing up the stairs.

The girl took in all the info that she could from her surroundings. She noticed the words engraved on the silver doors, the guards at those same doors, the hundred of goblins seated at counters and the many doors behind them. They stopped at one of the counter and Snape waited for the goblin to look at him. "Miss Black would like to access her vault. I believe you already received instructions from the Ministry."

"Of course, Sir. Could it be possible to see the Ministry's certificate?" asked the goblin.

Avaya opened her bag and got the piece of paper out. She got on her tiptoe and laid down the certificate on the counter. The goblin looked at it and then at the girl who stared back. After a couple of seconds, he handed back the paper to the child.

"Guzmok!" called the goblin. "He will escort you to your vault, Miss Black."

They followed Guzmok through a door and down a passageway to a cart in which they sat. Avaya had never been in a roller coaster, but she figured that the sensation would be the same. She didn't get sick, but she didn't enjoy it either. That would be another wizarding means of transportation to add to her list; and it didn't fit both requirements either. When it finally stopped, they were in front of the vault 711. The goblin opened the door; but how exactly he did it she wasn't sure. Inside the vault, she found piles of gold and silver and bronze. She remembered Dumbledore's explanations on the Wizard's monetary system: you needed twenty-nine bronze Knuts in one silver Sickle, and seventeen Sickles for one gold Galleon. Other than the money, she could also see some books and magical artefacts. She didn't touch any of them though. She didn't have a purse or anything like it, so she opened her backpack, thinking about using the sock with her muggle money to hold some of the wizard money too.

Snape looked at the girl as she seemed to get a sock out of her bag. He figured it was to put the coins in it. A good thing he had expected something like that. The child didn't seem to have lots of possession. He coughed and extended a hand to the girl. In it was an old leather purse.

"I figured you might need something like this, Miss Black. This is one of my old ones, but it should do the job. It has been enchanted to be weightless and you can fit as many coins as you need in it. You can keep it."

Avaya looked at Snape with wide eyes and gently took the gift. Inside, it was separated in tree sections so the coins wouldn't mixed up with each other. It's true that it looked old, but it gave it all its charm. Once her inspection was done, she looked back at the Potion Master. When she thanked him, her face was glowing with happiness and something else that neither of them could have identified.

She then started filling the purse with coins. When she was done, they rode back and got out of the bank. Avaya felt back in step with her professor and followed him to Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. Once they were in, Snape gave the Hogwarts letter to the child so she could know what she needed; he sat down and started reading some potion magazine. Avaya took the letter and read the list as she walked further in the shop until she met the owner, a squat and smiling witch.

"For Hogwarts, my dear?" the woman asked. "Just come with me" she replied when the girl nodded.

"I will take a couple of normal robes with my school uniform, Ma'am" Avaya added as she trailed the woman and looked around.

"Of course, my dear, it's not a problem. If you'll just step on the stool, we'll start with your uniform."

Avaya did as she was asked. A robe was slipped over her head and Madam Malkin started to pin it to the right length. While she was doing so, Avaya noticed a boy next to her. The boy had a pale, pointed face, blonde hair and blue gray eyes.

"Hullo" he said when he noticed the girl looking at him. "You're going to Hogwarts this year?"

"Yes."

"I started last year" he continued. "So I guess I'll see you around. I'm just here to buy some new robes." The girl simply looked at him with a puzzled smile. "What? Is there a problem?" he asked almost offended.

"Well, not that the green is not you colour, but if I were you, I'd tried the one with white gold on it."

"And why is that?" he demanded haughtily.

"It would fit with your hair and make your eyes stand out even more" she simply answered matter-of-factly.

The boy looked abashed for a second, snorted and finally decided to try it. The robe was black with white golden lining and patterns at the end of the sleeves and on the hem. It was simple but still had panache. When the boy looked at himself in the mirror, he had to admit that he looked goddamn good. He instructed some assistant to fit it; he was buying this one.

"Thanks" he then said to the girl. "I guess one does need a woman when buying clothes. I'm Draco Malfoy by the way." He smiled at her and extended his hand.

"My pleasure, Mr Malfoy" she answered while slightly bowing her head. She then shook his hand. "I'm Avaya Black."

Draco simply stared. That can't be possible, he thought. There were no more Blacks; they had all married, for the women, and the men never had any kids. _She must be lying_. _Or my mother ignores a detail somewhere. I have to find out what is going on here._

The boy was still gripping her hand, but now, he was simply staring. _Oh well_,_ I guess he must know who my dad is. _"Would you mind giving me my hand back now?"

He did let go of it but he was still staring. Madam Malkin's assistant was done with him and Avaya was looking for some normal robes when a tall, slim, very pale woman with long blonde hair came in the shop.

"Are you done, Draco? We still need to go to other shops and your father is waiting for us."

"Yes, Mother" he replied like a robot. While she paid for the robe, Draco gave quick glances at the girl, but she was ignoring him now. The woman left the shop and the young Malfoy simply followed, lost in his thoughts.

"Mother, are you sure none of the Blacks ever got any children?"

"Of course I'm sure, Draco. I already told you the story of my bloodline. All the Black women married and therefore changed their last name. As for the man, there were only two. My cousin Regulus died in the war and his brother never married and is in Azkaban. You know this as well as I, why do you ask?"

"The girl I met in Madam Malkin's shop, her last name was Black. Would it be possible that a Mudblood or a Half-blood shares the name, Mother?"

"I don't think so, Draco, but this is disturbing indeed."

"Could any of your cousins have had a kid without anyone knowing?"

"Well, Regulus was eighteen when he died, so I wouldn't think so. But Sirius was popular with girls; it would be possible that he got one of them pregnant. But then, he would have married her if he had known... I believe." For a moment, his mother looked thoughtful. She didn't like the situation either. "I want you to find more information about that girl, Draco" she finally directed him.

"Yes, Mother" he simply replied. He had already decided so anyways.

* * *

Avaya had paid for the school uniform and the robes. Professor Snape had reduced the bags with a spell and she had packed them away in her backpack. That was one spell she wanted to learn. They then walked to next shop: Flourish & Blotts, a bookstore. Avaya felt like a sun was warming her insides, bookstores and libraries were the most fabulous things in the world. She took the list out to see what she needed and simply started wandering around, gathering books.

Severus was shocked to see the girl take the initiative. She had not said a word to him and she was gone like the wind, fetching books here and there. She looked peaceful as she was doing so, not even noticing all the people around. Then he remembered what the Headmaster had told them about the child's life. No wonder she was so at ease in a bookstore, she had probably spent most of her time studying any books and any subjects that she found at the library near her place. Books were probably her only friends. He looked more closely at the child, trying to read her emotions and thoughts, and he noticed that she already had all the school books in hand and was now getting books on other subjects.

Avaya knew she'd had some free time before the start of the school year to read more about this strange new world, so she looked around for some books that would give her some basic knowledge. To her school list, she added: _Ministry of Magic: How it saved us_, _Hogwarts: A History_, _Modern Magical History_, _Nature's Nobility: A Wizarding Genealogy_, _Pureblood Families Nowadays: Everything you need to know _and _Spells and Charms for the Everyday Life_. She went to pay and Snape, who had joined her at the cashier, reduced them. When the miniaturized books were safe in her backpack, they started moving towards the exit of the shop. But they had not reached it yet when Avaya recognized the boy's voice.

"Potter, you've got yourself a _girlfriend_!"

She changed direction and headed towards the voice. She had guessed right; Draco Malfoy was there, seemingly confronting a brown hair boy who must have been "Potter" and a red hair girl. At the same moment she arrived, a brown hair girl and a red hair boy showed up.

"Oh, it's you" said the newcomer looking at Malfoy as if he were something unpleasant on the sole of his shoe. "Bet you're surprised to see Harry here, eh?"

"Not as surprised as I am to see you in a shop, Weasley" retorted Malfoy. "I suppose your parents will go hungry for a month to pay for that lot."

The Weasley boy went red. He dropped his books in the smaller girl's cauldron and started towards Malfoy, but Potter and the brown hair girl grabbed the back of his jacket. Avaya heard Snape grumble something about stupid Gryffindors resorting to their fists. And then a man appeared.

"Ron" he said "What are you doing? It's mad in here, let's go outside."

"Well, well, well – Arthur Weasley."

Another man had just come in and was now standing with a hand on Draco's shoulder. Avaya assumed he must have been his father since they looked so much alike; they were even sneering the same way. And so the other man, Arthur Weasley, must be Ron Weasley's father. The girl could also be his daughter because of the red hair. And she knew about the Potter boy since Dumbledore had told her himself. So that left the brown hair girl...

"Lucius" said Mr Weasley, nodding coldly.

"Busy time at the Ministry, I hear" said Mr Malfoy. "All those raids... I hope they're paying you overtime?" He reached into the red hair girl's cauldron and extracted a very old, very battered copy of _A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration_. "Obviously not" he said. "Dear me, what's the use of being a disgrace to the name of wizard if they don't even pay you well for it?"

Mr Weasley flushed darker than Ron. "We have a different idea of what disgraces the name of wizard, Malfoy" he replied.

"Clearly" said Mr Malfoy, his pale eyes straying to two other adults who were watching apprehensively. "The company you keep, Weasley... and I thought your family could sink no lower –"

Everything went pretty fast from that point. Avaya would have thought that the other man would find a fine retort, but instead he threw himself at Lucius Malfoy. That man had surely been a Gryffindor too; she would have to ask Professor Snape for more details about the Hogwarts' Houses. Anyways, now was not the time. She didn't want to see any of them hurt, and a fight wouldn't be good considering there were kids and books around. In a matter a millisecond, before Mr Weasley could reach Mr Malfoy, two blue translucent bubbles appeared surrounding both men. When Mr Weasley's bubble touched Mr Malfoy's, he was immediately stopped.

It took everyone a couple of seconds to realize what was happening. Everyone but Snape. He had felt the surge of power coming from the child next to him and now that her powers were not concealed anymore, he could take a guess at how powerful she was. But how could she have created those shields, which he had never heard of before? What he had just witnessed taught him tree things about the Black girl: first, she could do wandless magic; two, she could do non-verbal magic (he had not heard her say any incantation); and three, she could create her own magical effect by simple use of will and raw power. Either that or it was a really powerful example of accidental magic, which he doubted. He looked down at the girl and when he saw her face, he felt like stepping away; anger was flowing intertwined with her power.

When everyone else woke up from the shock of having two surrounding shields appear, they started wondering who had done it. And one after the other, those who could feel her power turned towards the black hair girl standing next to Professor Snape, the others just followed their stares. No one had noticed her before, but now, all attention was on her.

Avaya looked first at Mr Weasley. "How dare you start a fight in a bookstore filled with people and precious books?" she asked coldly. And before he could answer, she turned towards Mr Malfoy. "And how dare you provoke him when you knew how he would respond?" She looked alternately at both men, narrowing her eyes at them. Neither said anything, they could feel her anger too and none wanted to provoke her. "What kind of examples are you giving to your children? Parents picking up at each other like high school boys; you are both immature! And what if one of the children around had gotten hurt? And they say that you are the adults. Well, I hope it serves you well to be put at your place by an eleven year old, Sirs" she finished looking at them disgustingly. She then turned towards Snape. "Sir, can we go, I still have lots of stuff I need to buy and I don't want to waste my time around here anymore."

Snape nodded and they started walking away when Draco's voice stopped them. "Black!" he yelled. And when she turned towards him, her anger still flaring in her eyes, he flinched but still asked. "What about my father? He can't walk around surrounded by a blue shield!"

"Don't worry, Draco" she replied venomously. "Both your father's and Mr Weasley's bubbles will disappear when they will have cooled down and be at a respectful distance of each other. That's what you do with naughty kids fighting, you keep them apart." She made a dangerous smile as if daring anyone to say anything and turned away, walking out. As she was exiting the shop, she heard Draco's outrage in his mumbled "How dare she?"

Snape was wondering how to approach the small girl about what had just happened. And when he felt her anger retreating, he turned around and kneeled, so he could be at eye level with her. "Would you mind telling me what happened in there, Miss Black?"

She looked a t him a bit exasperated. "Which part, Sir? You saw what happened, so which part of it do you need more details on?"

"Firstly, why did you put the shields up?" he asked.

Avaya looked at him and wondered for a second if he was less intelligent than she had first thought. "Isn't that obvious, Sir? I did it to stop them from fighting."

"And why did you want to stop them?"

"For the reasons I said earlier, Sir. Now if you'll make me repeat myself, I think this conversation is over."

Severus stopped her as she tried to walk away and looked in her eyes, as he asked his next question. "How did you do it, Avaya?"

The child noticed the use of her first name. The professor sounded worried. She looked away for a split second and then bowed her head. Snape raised it back with a finger and asked again "Tell me."

"I... uh... simply wanted it, Sir?" When the Potion Master didn't reply, she tried explaining more. "I knew what was going to happen and I wanted to stop it. I wanted to stop them from hurting each other or hurting someone else accidentally. The bubbles... The shields just appeared because I wanted them to, Sir."

Snape looked thoughtfully at the girl. So he had been right, this was no accidental magic, which could not be controlled and happened when a child was in danger or upset. This had definitely been willed magic. And powerful one, as the shield had proven it. "Since when are you able to do magic like this?" he asked apprehensively.

The child didn't even think about it before answering. "As long as I can remember, Sir. Some things I had to practice, like breaking up the _Silencio_; but others are just natural" she explained.

"Breaking up the _Silencio_?" asked Snape horrified.

Avaya wriggled a bit and bowed her head once more. "My mother used to put it on me so she could ignore me better" she murmured so low that Severus had to strain his ears to hear it.

If Snape had not been an excellent Occlumens, he would definitely have shaken with rage. It was true that Dumbledore had told them that the girl had been neglected for ten years, but he had not told them any details, and now he wondered how deep the neglect had been. He wasn't sure how the child would respond, but he had to ask. "What else did she do?"

Avaya stared at her professor as she answered "Nothing, Sir."

"Do not lie to me, Miss Black" he heard himself replying.

The girl mumbled something and put both her hands on his temples. "Let me show you then" she decided.

And then Snape saw.

He saw that the child was not lying, in a way: her mother had indeed done nothing. She had started ignoring her only child when she was barely a year old and had not cared about her since then.  
He saw what she meant by some things she needed to practice with her magic, such as breaking the _Silencio_, or summoning food from wherever and even transforming back and forth some furniture into a music instrument she wanted to learn to play.  
He saw the natural side of her power as she was forced to protect herself from the Social Services, like her changing her voice, and when she wanted to protect someone else, or even stray kittens in a box made waterproof so they would stay dry and warm until someone took them home.

And then Snape understood.

He understood why she didn't seem to trust anyone around her.  
He understood why she was so lonely and withdrawn.  
He understood how powerful she was and how much control she had over her magic.

But he still didn't understand Dumbledore's fear and uneasiness about the child. Sure, she was terribly powerful, but she had never used her magic to inflict pain, not even on that woman that bore her and then acted as if she didn't exist.

When the images stopped, he had one thing to add to his list: four, the child can transfer her memories to someone else. He wondered a second if she absolutely had to put her hands on one's temples to do it and decided that he could find out later about such details. He looked at the child and nodded. He couldn't say anything right now. The child wouldn't want any pity and wouldn't understand anger. He straightened himself and got back to his feet. "Let's go buy whatever else you need, Miss Black" he said.

Avaya was relieved that the professor didn't ask any more questions. She was not angry anymore. Actually, she was all happy inside again as she thought about the rest of their shopping trip. They stopped by a store where she bought plenty of parchments, quills and ink. They passed in front of "Quality Quidditch Supplies" but she wasn't sure what "Quidditch" was. She would have to read about it. They stopped by the cauldron shop, and Snape discouraged her from buying her own ingredients at the apothecary where he had to stop. "I have plenty of ingredients in my cabinets, and I would rather be certain that you won't try to brew anything outside of the lab" he had told her sternly. They passed in front of a shop selling owls and when Severus suggested that she buy one, she only replied "I don't have anyone to write to, so why would I need an owl?" And she had kept walking. They saw plenty of shops that they didn't need to go in.

Their final stop on their journey was Ollivanders, the wand shop. It was narrow and shabby and a single wand lay on a faded purple cushion in the dusty window. A tinkling bell rang somewhere in the depths of the shop as they stepped inside. Avaya looked at the thousands of narrow boxes piled neatly right up to the ceiling. Snape was still standing behind her, even though there was a chair he could have sat on.

"Good day" said a soft voice. Avaya turned around to face an old man with wide, pale eyes. "Some family of yours, Severus Snape?" he asked turning to the professor.

Snape tried hard not to comment on the lack of appropriate title. "No, Sir" he said coldly.

"Well then, Miss" he turned to Avaya again. "It would help me greatly to know who your parents are. Sometimes, it makes it easier to find a wand for you, even though it is the wand that chooses the wizard."

"Sir, my name is Avaya Black. And I don't want a wand that would choose me for who my parents are" she replied dryly. "So even if my last name might be a clue, I will not give you the information you seek."

Mr Ollivander looked at the girl blankly and went to fetch a couple of boxes muttering under his breath. Snape glanced at her and he thought today was the day for revelations. Once again, he understood something about the child: she didn't want to be associated with her parents. _Well, who could blame her with the parents she has?_

Avaya waited for Ollivander to come back with a selection of wands. She gave a wave of each of them, but none responded and the pile of tried wand kept piling higher and higher. He was gone back to fetch some more when Avaya felt a pull. She wouldn't have been able to describe what was happening, but she thought she could hear someone singing in the back of the shop. So she started walking.

Snape saw the girl acting strange all of the sudden, like she was hearing the call of a mermaid. He called her name, but she didn't answer. She was in some sort of trance. He followed her, wondering what was going on. Ollivander met them on his way back with boxes in his hands, but when he saw the child, he stopped.

"Miss Black?" he asked timidly.

"Something is pulling me in the back of your shop, Mr Ollivander" she replied half-conscious.

The wand maker dropped the boxes somewhere and started following her too. They passed the doors that led to the back shop where older wands, experimental and improperly made ones were stored. The girl stopped between two rows and strained her ears. Was the sound coming out of the floor?

Snape and Ollivander where standing behind the girl, looking at each other, not knowing what to do or what this was about. Avaya extended a hand and suddenly, the parquet's slat came off and a box rose in the air and settled in her hand. With the other hand, she repaired the floor. She then turned to Ollivander and gave the box to him.

"It was singing to me" she told both men and then started walking back to the front of the shop.

Ollivander followed her, opening the box. There was a wand in it, but he didn't recognize it. It would have been old, probably made by one of his oldest ancestor. But why was it hidden? He looked at it meticulously. It was made of cherry, which wasn't out of ordinary. But when he tried identifying the core, it didn't feel like any of the three they were using in his family for centuries. Was this an experimental wand? What was it, it felt somewhat familiar... dragon. He knew it was a dragon part, not heartstring for sure. And then he felt it; the strong protectiveness of the wand... a dragon scale!

Avaya looked at Ollivander and saw that he was studying the wand. When it seems like he got all the answers he would find, she asked "Sir, could we please try to find me a wand so I can go back home?"

Snape jumped at the question. What had gotten his attention was the use of the word "home" to describe Hogwarts. _Well, not really surprising, Severus. She never had a home per say. She had a place she could live in, but no real home were people cared for her, even if she doesn't realize how much we care for her yet._

Ollivander looked at the girl when she called him to order. "Why don't you try this wand, Miss Black?" he suggested giving the rescued wand back to the girl. "I believe it must have been singing to you for a reason. Cherry and dragon scale. Nine inches. I'd say more or less unyielding."

Snape stared at the man as he described the wand. Dragon scale? Ollivanders had been using the same cores in their wands for centuries and dragon scale wasn't one of them. What could this mean?

Avaya took the wand and she suddenly felt warmth spread through her body and a shield of white light surrounded her before quickly vanishing.

"That's what I thought" said Ollivander. "I'm not sure what this wand was doing under the floor and I don't know who made it or even when it was made, but the dragon scale in the wand talks about protectiveness. I bet it will be very good with protective spells and charms. It has chosen you, so it's yours" he finished.

Snape had seen too many strange things today. That girl was a strange events' factory, he thought. She paid for her wand and they walked back towards the archway to the Leaky Cauldron. When he looked at the time, he realized it was pass lunch time and decided they should get something to eat at the tavern. They both ate in silence and when they were done, they headed back to Hogwarts.

"Thank you, Sir, for accompanying me and for having put up with everything that's been happening" she told him as they walked back to the castle. "Is Potion still going on this evening?" she asked hopeful.

Snape thought he had to talk with Albus, but he'd have time to do that before supper. "Of course, Miss Black" he answered. "Unless you have better things to do" he scorned.

Avaya looked him in the eyes and started laughing. Snape, shocked once more, realized it was the first time he was hearing her laugh, the first time she was really letting go of her mask. But her retort was just as good to his ears as her laugh. "You can't get rid of me that easily, Sir" she said giggling. She started walking towards her rooms but Snape stopped her.

"Miss Black!" he interjected, "Wouldn't you like to know the spell to revert all your new belongings to their rightful size?"

The girl nodded and walked back to the teacher. She took a book out of her bag and Snape performed the _Finite Incantatem_ on it. He demonstrated the wand movement and told her the right way to pronounce the incantation. After a couple of times, she was able to get it right and headed back to her rooms, while Snape went to his Potion Lab to put away his ingredients. When that was done, he headed for Dumbledore's office. He wasn't sure what he would actually tell the old coot and which secrets he would keep to himself, but he definitely needed to talk with him.

* * *

After giving their original size back to her new belongings, Avaya skimmed through the modern history book and started reading the book on spells and charms. The _Finite_ was in there, but she also found some cleaning spells, the _Diminuendo_ (Snape had probably used this one to shrink all her effects), some minor healing spells and some easy charms such as the _Wingardium Leviosa_. She tried each and every one of them and by supper time she could perform them all. She was satisfied with herself as she headed to the Great Hall for supper.

After supper, she met the Potion Master in his lab and started learning a new potion. She was watching her potion which had to bubble for half an hour when she decided to ask some questions.

"Sir?" she said looking up at Snape.

"Yes, Miss Black" he answered still looking at his teaching program for the next year.

"Could you give me more information about the school Houses, Sir?" she asked.

He immediately stopped looking at his parchment and stared at the girl. "Why do you ask me?" he wondered. "You must know that I am the Head of Slytherin and therefore would be a biased source."

"I understand that, Sir. But then isn't everyone biased? Whether it is linked to the House they were in or simply the House they favour. Even the Headmaster cannot be entirely objective. And he didn't really explained all the details" she finished.

"What kind of details?"

"Well, Sir. I heard you commenting on Gryffindors' habit to resort to their fists. The Headmaster told me there were four Houses at Hogwarts, from the four Founders and that each House represented the qualities they had valued the most. But he didn't tell what those qualities are. Could you please enlighten me, Sir?"

The way the question was formulated made Snape grind his teeth. He had to be careful with how he answered unless he wanted to lose the small trust the girl had given him. He chose his words carefully as he started speaking.

"Very well, Miss Black, I'll try my best to give you an objective description. First, Hufflepuffs. They value hard work, tolerance, loyalty and fair play. They tend to be soft-hearted and some would say that they are cry-babies. I believe that their biggest trait is their tolerance; maybe because anyone who is not sent to any of the three other Houses ends up in Hufflepuff. They readily accept anyone amongst them and trust easily; but this is also their biggest flaw. Do you know why?" he asked calmly.

"I guess because they would trust_too_ easily, so it would be simple to deceive them. In the world we live in, trust is something that should be given carefully and exceptionally."

Snape thought about her answer and how it referred to her life. She might be a bit soft-hearted herself, but she was far from being naive. "That's a good reasoning, Miss Black. Next, we have Ravenclaws. They are recognized for being intelligent and creative. Learning and wit are also two of their traits. Most would believe that there are no flaws associated to those qualities. What do you think of this statement?"

Avaya thought for a second before answering. "No one is perfect, Sir" she started. "If one is smart and knows about it, one could become pretentious or believe one is better than the others. Creativity is good as long as it doesn't become a dangerous sort of creativity. I totally understand their love of learning but it would be easy to lose oneself in books and forget that there is still a world revolving outside of them. Finally, too much knowledge and you might become matter-of-factly to an annoying extent. You might even forget that some things don't need to be explained or understood. Some mysteries are nice to have."

Snape was a bit surprised by that answer; he wasn't expecting such a complete one since she was probably mostly Ravenclaw herself. He wondered if his initial assessment of the girl was right. Was she really going to be a Ravenclaw or a Gryffindor? "Very good, Miss Black. Let's talk about the Gryffindors now. Gryffindors are known for being the brave ones. Outside of bravery, they value courage, loyalty, nerve and chivalry. They will stand up against any perceived form of injustice. They are generally guided by their hearts, which make them prompt to jump into action mode quite easily."

"To the point that they might not think before acting" she finished. "Bravery and chivalry are good qualities, but jumping into action without a plan can be suicidal."

"A good point, Miss Black. Their sense of justice is really strong, but their biggest flaw is letting their heart guide them, which makes them react as we witnessed today."

"Everyone has qualities and flaws, it's all about balancing them though" she thought out loud. "Listening to one's heart is a good quality, but forgetting to listen to one's head also is a bit dumb, I must admit. If all Gryffindors are like that, it must be tiring to be around them" she noted.

Snape hid a smile and continued with the last House. "Last is my House" he said without hiding his smile this time. "Slytherins value mostly ambition, but also cunning, leadership and resourcefulness. I must add that Muggle-borns are really rare in my House since most Slytherins come from families who believe in the supremacy of pure-bloods; tough it has happened that a Slytherin would not adhere to this way of thinking. However, I believe it has been more prominent since the Dark Lord's time" he finished hesitantly.

"Mmmh... I guess it makes sense then. Slytherins being ambitious, they would associate with the Dark Lord since he was really powerful from what I heard. He could have given them a chance of shinning in a world they would have helped forging. The temptation is understandable. However, even if I don't know everything about the war or the Dark Lord, it seems to me that if Slytherins were really cunning, they would have realized at some point that they wouldn't actually get what they wanted out of the madman. I have difficulties to believe that Voldemort would actually do something for what he would consider the greater good. I think he was just another tyrant who wanted power. You know what they say about power, Sir?" she asked Snape.

Snape remembered some of his muggle readings about war and power. "Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely" he answered instinctively.

Avaya smiled at the Potion Master. It was good to know that he had read some books outside of what had been written in the wizarding world. "Exactly, Sir. Maybe it is just my own studies on wars and politics in the muggle world that make me think that way, but it sounds to me like the biggest flaw of your Slytherins is also their biggest quality. Ambition can be a formidable thing when used the right way, but take it down the wrong path and your Slytherins become mindless followers... a shame." She sighed.

Snape was still looking at her, unable to speak. He stared at her as she finished and bottled her potion, cleaned her workplace and left the classroom with a bow of her head in his direction. She had not said a word during the process. Snape wasn't sure what to think. He was amazed that an eleven, almost twelve, year old could grasp so quickly the problems that Slytherins were facing. The three other Houses' flaws were easy to see and understand, but people would usually not even try to comprehend the thinking process of Slytherins; it was a lot easier to just assume that they were all evils. But Slytherins were no more evil than the others; it was their ambition that drove them towards darker paths. An ambition that they could hardly control or refrain. He surprised himself thinking that Avaya Black would be a great asset to his House, but then she had not shown any special sign of ambition herself. He had to admit that Dumbledore had been right: the girl was full of surprises. He could usually tell where a student was going to be sorted, but with the Black girl, everything was a blur. It was as if she could fit in the four Houses without fitting properly in any of them. Maybe she was simply too mature to be so easily sorted, he thought.

Then he remembered some of his discussion with the Headmaster. They had agreed that the Ministry had to be made aware of Avaya's neglect so they could search for her mother and bring her to justice. When Snape had tried to convince the old coot that the small girl had a pure heart, he had seemed reticent, saying that she was still young and easily influenced. Snape would hardly believe that the girl could be influenced in any ways, even less after their latest discussion. He felt that _she_ was the one who would be influencing them, and in a way, it scared him. The future seemed suddenly uncertain. Dumbledore still wanted him to keep an eye on the girl and had not said why he was suspicious of her, but Snape was starting to have his own ideas. He would need to make some research. Oh, he would keep an eye on Avaya Black, but not because the Headmaster had asked him. He would keep an eye on Avaya Black simply because he liked her, even though he would never have admitted such a thing.

With his thoughts still storming in his head, Severus Snape left his Potion Lab and went to his office where he wrote a letter to the Ministry. He needed a special permission to research their archives, and hopefully they would see no reason of refusing it to him.


	6. The Beginning

**Chapter 6  
The Beginning**

In the following days, Avaya had been tested in Astronomy and Herbology; and had completed her flying lessons, obtaining Os in all of them. In her free time, she was either studying for the next classes she would have, whether it was Charms, DADA or Transfiguration, or reading the extra books she had purchased. She realized that the Magical Art, as she had started calling it, was one of precision, concentration and will. You obviously had to learn the right wand movement and the proper way to pronounce the incantations; but you also had to will the effect, which required lots of concentration. She was a quick learner in the magical disciplines as well, but it was quite rare that she would obtain the expected results on her first try, not by lack of will, but more due to a lack of concentration. Her mind was always so busy with information and ideas and plans that sometimes her spells would reflect this. She didn't have this problem when she simply willed the magic to do something for her however. As she had already told Snape, some things were natural and some others she had already practiced enough. So it was just a matter of time, she thought, before she could discipline herself to concentrate as much when doing magic with a wand as she was already when doing it wandless.

It didn't take time for Snape to notice that there was something wrong though. How could a girl so gifted in potion and who could create her own magical effect through will and raw power not be able to succeed on her wand magic at the first try? Nevertheless, the girl would catch quickly enough on her own mistakes, so he didn't comment. Anyways, she was better than most of the students he had seen yet, so it wasn't really a problem. It was just something he decided to keep in mind and hopefully get an answer to eventually.

By the end of the week, Avaya had written all her exams and completed the practical part for Charms, DADA and Transfiguration. To everyone's surprise, except Snape's and hers, she obtained Os in every class. Without telling anyone, she had also started practicing all the spells she had learnt in a wandless form. Sometimes, she would even try them non-verbal, with or without wand, but she definitely still needed practice in both disciplines. She had also come to realize that her power was a lot easier to use when she was angry, and that in itself was not good news. She knew that she would have to keep herself in check. She even contemplated talking about it to the Potions Master; but even though she somewhat trusted the man, she still didn't trust him enough with something this big. So she simply decided to be even more careful from now on by dutifully controlling her emotions. After some days of letting go, mostly in front of the Potion Master, her mask came back in full force as a protection. Snape didn't understand what had brought the change and added the transformation to his list of things to discover about the child; a list that kept growing with time.

During those days, Avaya had not only discovered things about herself, but also about her parents. The books she had bought about the pure-blood families had given her some insight about her own genealogy. She read that the Johnston had been an eminent pure-blood family that had move from Canada to Great Britain when her maternal grandfather was only six. Both grandparents had died during the Wizarding War however. It also said that their only child, her mother, had disappeared in early 1980, at the age of 20. To this date (1990), no one had heard of her. Avaya obviously had an idea of what had happened though. When she looked at the entry under her maternal grandmother, the information was also incomplete. It was stating that her maiden name had been Heaton and that she had been raised by two Muggles, who were her adoptive parents. No one knew who her biological parents were. Avaya registered the information for later. On her father's side, the information was a lot more extensive. It seemed that the Blacks were one of the oldest pure-blood families of the country. But then again, her grandparents were already deceased and there was no mention of her. When she looked at the tree of the Black family, she recognized two names. It would seem that Draco was her second cousin and the Weasleys some really distant cousins. Well that was definitely something to keep in mind.

* * *

The last Sunday of summer holidays, Avaya was back in Diagon Alley with the Potion Master to buy the second year's books. But when she saw the list, she couldn't stop her frown. She knew the Dark Arts teacher was Lockhart, but to make them buy his entire works, she could already tell she wouldn't like the man. She also took the opportunity to buy some more "general knowledge books". Her subjects this time were: Quidditch, Magical History (including the latest Wizarding War), Curses, Hexes, Jinxes and Charms, Medical Magic and Defence against the Dark Arts. She also bought some of the school books she knew would be required in her future years at Hogwarts and some to give her an idea about the elective classes. So to her already big pile, she added the advanced books for DADA, Potions, Charms and Transfiguration and the basic books on Ancient Runes, Arithmancy and Muggle Study. She didn't care about Divination and she already had a book on Magical Creatures.

"Trying to compete with Hogwarts' library, Miss Black?" had commented Snape when he had seen all the books she was buying. Avaya had simply looked at him and half smiled before reducing all the books and putting them away in her backpack. She knew that the Ministry was monitoring spells from underage wizards, but her readings had also taught her that they monitored mostly in the Muggle world and that wandless were a lot harder to notice. She also had a feeling that the Ministry could not trace her. If they had been able to, they would have found her long ago and they would have done something about her mother. So she just knew she wouldn't be in trouble for what she had just done.

Snape didn't say anything about it either, but he still frowned. Now that he thought about it, the child had been using lots of magic when she was still living with her mother and it would seem that the Ministry had never noticed it. The professor knew there must have been a reason behind it and decided that it was one thing he would need to talk about with the Headmaster before deciding what to do about it. For now, he just followed the girl in her errands.

After Diagon Alley, Avaya had dragged the Potion Master in some Muggle clothing shop. She wanted some clothes that she could wear and that were not her wizard robes or school uniform. She couldn't keep wearing the same thing all the time, even though it was being washed each night, Merlin only knows how. And so she bought some shorts, trousers, t-shirts, jumpers, underwear, pyjamas, shoes, boots and jackets for all season.

The rest of the day had been spent in reading her new books, brewing potions with Snape and packing all her new stuff in the trunk she had bought and on which she had cast the featherweight and the undetectable extension charms. She had to be ready for the next day, when the Potions professor would apparate them away in London and walk her to the Hogwarts Express. The train would then bring her back to Hogwarts for the school year. She had not argued when she had been told that Dumbledore wanted her to take the train instead of simply staying at the school until the other students arrived. In fact she didn't really care about it.

When Monday came, Avaya ate breakfast at the Head table for the last time and met Snape at the front gates with her backpack and her trunk. With the magic she had worked on the latter, all her belongings had fitted and there were still room for more. They apparated in some dark alley of London and headed to King's Cross. Avaya didn't ask where they were going since she knew she would find out sooner or later. So she simply trailed Snape, her bag on her back and pulling her trunk behind her. The Potion Master stopped in front of a barrier between the platforms nine and ten and looked discreetly around. When he confirmed that no Muggles would see them, he put his hand on the girl's shoulder and spoke softly. "Just keep walking towards the barrier. It's a portal to platform nine and three-quarters."

The girl nodded and with the Professor still at her side, she walked through the barrier. On the other side, she found herself in front of the Hogwarts Express, a scarlet steam engine. They were an hour early so there were still few people on the platform. Those already there were too occupied in their goodbyes to pay attention to them anyways.

Snape got on his knee and turn the child so she'd face him. "Don't go looking for trouble" he directed her, a really small sparkle in his eyes. Avaya laughed silently, the first laugh she had had since putting her mask back. When he heard the sound, Severus realized how much he had missed it and frowned at himself for getting sentimental and at the child for not taking him seriously. "I'm serious, Miss Black" he reiterated. "Try to keep a low profile and stay out of trouble. And when you'll be at Hogwarts, follow the First Years," he instructed.

"But Sir, I don't look for trouble, trouble simply finds me" she replied still smiling. "But thank you for your concern and I will try not to do anything too flashy. I guess I'll see you back at school, Sir."

Snape nodded. He didn't know what he could say. He didn't want to give the kid false hopes and he didn't want to engage in wishful thinking himself. He would be disappointed soon enough and the good time with a skilful assistant would end soon enough too. He really wished that Black would be a Slytherin, but he didn't have big hopes about that. He looked at the girl's back as she left to board the train, and when he couldn't see her anymore, he left the platform to apparate back to Hogwarts.

Avaya entered the compartment nearest to the end of the train, facing the platform. She had put her trunk away and was now sitting with a book, looking out the window once in a while. As time passed by, more students arrived with their parents and took place in the train. None paid attention to her or tried to share her compartment. She, however, studied everyone she could. She recognized the Malfoys and the brown hair girl from Flourish & Blotts. One look at the adults accompanying her told Avaya that she was a Muggle-born. She was still sitting alone in her compartment two minutes before the departure of the train when she felt something from the portal, like a surge of power. She had noticed that some of the Weasleys had just come in. Curious, she got out of the train to go investigate. She would have to be quick though if she didn't want the train to leave without her.

In front of the portal, she felt magic running through it, but not the same than it had been when she had crossed it earlier. She passed a hand on it but couldn't feel anything more. She passed her head through the barrier and faced a Ron Weasley and a Harry Potter on the ground as if their trolleys had collided with a wall. With all the curious around, she quickly thought of some of the new spells she had learnt. She cast the _Muffliato _and a Muggle-Repelling Charm on the area before talking. "You guys are better hurry up if you don't want to miss the train."

Both gasped and stared at her. "We'd love to" Ron answered defensively. "But we're stuck on this side." To prove his comment, he put a hand on the solidified barrier.

Avaya looked at his hand. "That's interesting." And before anyone could say anything, she crossed the portal.

"You won't be able to go back either now" said Harry apologetically.

"Please do not underestimate me, Potter" she answered with a sad, enigmatic smile. "You guys grab you stuff while I get the portal back, and hurry up" she directed. She put a hand on the barrier and felt weird magic. She closed her eyes and visualized what she wanted: for the barrier to become a portal again."_Finite Incantatem_" she murmured. Just to test her result, her hand passed through the wall. She turned to the two boys again. "Let's go now before whoever did this try something else or before the train leaves" she urged them.

They scurried through the portal with their trolleys and Avaya followed them. She grabbed the owl and the rat's cages while the boys took their trunk and all three of them jumped in the train as its whistle announced the departure. They had made it just in time.

"Wow! Thanks!" said Harry looking at the girl.

"No problem" she replied handing them back their pets and walking back to her compartment. A couple of minutes later, the two boys appeared at the door, interrupting her readings.

"Do you mind if we join you? Everywhere else is full" Harry asked.

"No, I don't mind at all" she answered not looking up from her book.

"Thanks again for earlier. I'm not sure what we would have done without you. I'm Harry..."

"Potter" she finished. "I know." She finally looked up. "And you are Ronald Weasley." Both boys looked surprised. "I guess I should introduce myself properly" she added as she rose on her feet. "I am Avaya Black and it is a pleasure to meet you formally" she said softly while bowing.

"Formally?" hesitated Harry.

"I knew I'd seen you before" yelled Ron excitedly. "You're the girl that created a shield around my dad at Flourish & Blotts!"

"Indeed" she answered raising a brow and waiting for him to continue.

"That was bloody brilliant!" Ron stated. As they sat down, he continued "My dad wasn't happy about it but once he calmed down and mum scolded him, he had to admit that it was some impressive magic you did. The twins still haven't stop talking about it yet. And how you've put Malfoy back in his place after, that was just priceless" he finished, a dreamy look on his face obviously remembering the events.

Avaya chuckled lightly at the sight and turned to Harry. "Harry, I couldn't help but notice that you didn't react to my last name. Do you know who my father is?" she asked.

"No, should I?" he answered looking confused.

Avaya thought for a second but decided that if she stayed silent now, sometime in the future, everyone would find out and she would have to explain in less comfortable circumstances. No, Harry needed to know the truth as soon as possible. "Tell me Harry, what do you know about the night your parents died?"

In the silence that followed, one could have heard an ant walking on the carpeted floor. Harry was studying her while Ron was simply staring, eyes big. After a moment, Potter answered. "Voldemort came after my parents one night, killed them, tried to kill me, but the spell bounced back and kind of destroyed him. Why do you ask?" he finished suspiciously.

Avaya nodded to herself. So he didn't know the whole story. _Maybe no one actually bothered telling him the whole version. _"I'm sorry to say that there is a part of the story that seems to be unknown to you. Let me tell you this story as I know it. I believe it is better if you know the whole truth now instead of finding later from some third party." She gathered her thoughts and continued. "When he was in Hogwarts, your father had three best friends, all of them in Gryffindor. Their names were Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew and Sirius Black." She saw Ron's jaw drop open and Harry's eyes widen, linking her last name with Sirius' and before one of them could talk, she pressed "Just let me finish my story, Harry, and then you can ask all the questions you want, okay?" He agreed silently. "So as I was saying, the four of them had been best friends for the seven years they attended school, and after as well. As you know, Voldemort was after your parents, Harry. Your parents knew it and decided to go in hiding. The only person who knew where they were was one of their best friends, Sirius Black. No one knows exactly what happened but it would seem that Sirius betrayed his friends, your parents, and told Voldemort where he could find them. This change of heart, this betrayal, led to the events that we all know. But not only did he make himself an accomplice of those deaths, he also killed their best friend Peter along with half a dozen of Muggles that were around at that moment." Avaya sighed and bowed her head. "I'm sorry for what my father did, Harry. I know it will be a small comfort to you, but believe me when I say that if I ever get my hands on him, he's going to pay for what he's done to us" she spat venomously. When she looked at Harry again, her irises seemed to be colour shifting from black to their original brown colour. "The Ministry caught him ten years ago and now he's rotting in prison. I thought you should know the whole truth, or at least what I was told of it."

"Thanks for being honest with me, Avaya. And don't worry; I won't blame you for what your father did. I might hate him for what he's done but you're not him. And you don't seem on really good term with him anyways" Harry replied without hesitation.

Avaya snorted at the understatement. She had never met the man but she despised him profoundly. She blamed him for all the mistakes her mother had done, not that she would ever admit to even care about her past life.

"So Aya," said Ron hesitantly, pulling her out of her dark thoughts. "I've never seen you in Hogwarts before. Are you starting your first year?"

"Aya?" She wondered where that came from.

"Well, no offense, but _Avaya_ is a bit long and don't you think there are too many 'A's in there? What were your parents thinking? Hope you don't mind a shorter version."

The girl just nodded. "I don't mind, it sounds nice enough. As for my parents, Merlin only knows what they could have been thinking" she added sombrely. "And to answer your question, it is my first time in Hogwarts, but I'm starting my second year." When she saw the puzzled look on the boys' face, she explained. "I was home-schooled before. But due to circumstances outside of my control, I have to join Hogwarts this year. Not that I mind though."

"That's great" said Harry. "Ron and I are in second year too. We're both in Gryffindor. It would be nice if you'd be in our House too."

"Hum... I have nothing against Gryffindor, but that's not the House I want to be in to be honest with you. I was told I would do well in it as well as Ravenclaw, but if I have it my way, I'll be sorted in Slytherin."

"WHAT!" they both yelled at the same time.

"You do realize that it was Voldemort's House, right?" objected Ron.

"And you do realize that my father, a traitor and a murderer, was in your House, right?" she replied to him.

Ron didn't know what to retort and Harry took his place. "But, Aya, Slytherins are evils and Death Eater wannabes" he pleaded.

Avaya laughed dryly at this comment. "And all Gryffindors are morally good and heroes of the Light? Is that what you are saying, Harry?" Thinking about the comment she had just made about her father, he wasn't sure himself how to reply. "Those are what we call stereotypes and prejudices, Harry. I'm a bit disappointed in you. Now, how about I tell you my reasons behind this choice, but you have to keep this to yourself." They both nodded. "You see, I think the House I could do the most good in is Slytherin. A war is coming, Harry, even though you don't realize it yet, I can feel it in my magic. And you see, one thing I learnt from my War studies is that the power of each party in a war resides in the power of its own allies and enemies. If you leave the Slytherins as they are, they will follow that madman again like they did last time, simply because they know what awaits them on that side. They do not think they would be welcome on the Light's side primarily because of your own prejudices against them. When faced with a choice between an unpleasant known and a total unknown, most people will choose the first one; the unknown will always carry too many uncertainties. You see, Harry, I am willing to change things. I do not let your prejudices or theirs trouble me. I have my own mind to form my own opinions and I believe that, given the chance, the Slytherins could become powerful and loyal allies. Someone just needs to push them on the right path once in a while. And before you ask, yes I do believe that Voldemort is still around. After all, they never found a body, did they?"

"So you'll sacrifice your own happiness for something you're the only one to believe in?" asked Ron.

"Who said I would be sacrificing anything? Who knows, maybe I am actually a Slytherin. And what is happiness, Ron? How would you define something so subjective? Maybe mine resides in what I can contribute to the war effort and in helping others."

"But wouldn't you rather prefer to be in a friendly House, with Harry and me?"

"I hope to make Slytherin a friendly House too, Ron. It's actually the whole point."

Harry who had been quiet and thinking nodded. "Well, I guess you're more courageous than most of us..."

"...or crazier" murmured Ron.

"...to be wishing to enter the snakes' pit voluntarily. I hope you good luck in convincing the Hat though, we'll see how long it'll take you to win the argument" Harry finished laughing.

Avaya raised a brow and didn't answer. However, she asked a question that had been in her mind since they had left. "Tell me, Harry, do you know why the barrier was closed? Do you know anyone who's trying to make you miss the train or something like that?"

"Uh... Malfoy could be one, but I doubt even him can do something like that." Avaya silently agreed. "Well, there was this house-elf, Dobby, who came to my uncle's house. He was saying something about a plot and something dangerous happening in Hogwarts. He wanted me to promise not to come. I refused of course" Harry finished.

"A house-elf?" repeated Avaya with curiosity. "That's interesting. I think you should mention it to McGonagall since she's you Head of House."

Harry shrugged. "Yeah, maybe I will." But the girl had a feeling he wouldn't. Before any of the boys could resume their questions, the candy trolley came by and Avaya bought enough for the three of them. She tried every one of them, including Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, to the amusement of the two boys. Fortunately for her, a discussion about Quidditch started between Harry and Ron and she simply returned to her book. A couple of minutes passed before another interruption happened in the form of three boys: Draco Malfoy was accompanied by two taller and thickset boys. One look at them and Avaya knew who they were. It was a good thing she had bought that book about the pureblood families.

Draco only had eyes for his two enemies though. "You have some candies left. Good thing, since we've eaten all of ours" he said with his usual haughty tone.

Both Harry and Ron jumped on their feet ready for a fight. _Typical Gryffindor_, thought Avaya. And before anyone else could say or do anything, she put her book down and positioned herself between the two groups, slightly squeezing the Gryffindors' shoulders on the way. "You could try asking nicely, Draco, dear" she said. "Or is it that hanging around your two gorillas has made you lose your good manners?"

The two boys took one step forward at the comment concerning them. "Crabbe. Goyle. It is so nice to meet you too" she continued sarcastically. "Maybe Draco didn't inform you of what happened last time we saw each other, but if I were you, I would think twice before threatening me or anyone else in this compartment. Do not make the mistake of underestimating me; it would definitely be un-Slytherin and you would only make it once. Well, that is if you can think by yourselves anyways. Maybe I should actually reiterate the point to your master." She turned an icy stare to Draco. "What would you think, Draco?"

Draco just couldn't believe his ears. Had the Black girl just threatened them? Well, he knew she probably could follow-up with her threats, but why couldn't she have reacted like the two idiots? Gryffindors always resorted to their fists and never tried to fight Slytherins on their grounds: insults and sarcasm. That was why his House loved to pick on them. _Who is that girl? _Draco wondered for the hundredth time since their summer encounter. "So, you've got yourself a new girlfriend, Potter. Better than the last one I should say, but I'm afraid she's out of your league" he replied. He thought he'd kill two birds with one stone by insulting Weasley's sister and Potter. And it would be interesting to see how Black would react to the statement which was an insult to them and a compliment to her. _Let's see to what extent she can act un-Gryffindorish._

Avaya raised a brow. It would appear that her previous reaction to the whole situation had impressed her cousin and he was now testing her. She sneered inwardly. This would be fun. "Oh dear, don't be jealous, Draco" she replied coolly. "It's nobody's fault if I have a thing for green eyes and brown hair. You don't look so bad yourself, but if you really want to, I'm sure I could work out a spell or two..."

"Don't you dare point your wand at me" interrupted Malfoy, fear appearing in his eyes.

"Who said I was going to use a wand?" she asked politely. She moved closer, looking him straight in the eyes. "Who said I _needed_ a wand?" she murmured menacingly.

"You're crazy, Black. Stay away from me" Draco spat at her before leaving hurriedly the compartment, followed by two confused Slytherins.

Avaya raised a brow. "Don't leave, Draco, dear. The fun was just starting" she said to the boys' backs before sliding close the compartment door. When she turned around, she faced a Potter and a Weasley with their mouth hanging open. "Boys, honestly, you should close your mouth. You look even worse than Crabbe and Goyle with that look on your face" she stated.

"What was that?" asked Ron.

"Well, Ron," she answered as she sat back, "this was confronting a Slytherin with a non-Gryffindor approach. Do you realize that if the Slytherins like to insult you so much, it's probably because of the way you react to their taunts?" Judging by the look on their face, they didn't understand what she meant. She sighed. "They love taunting you because you always jump on the occasion to literally fight them. This means, that if you are caught, you will be the ones in trouble for starting the real fight. Next time, you should try finding scathing retorts to throw at them instead of your fists" she simply stated before turning back to her book.

The rest of the time in the train ride passed quite quickly. Harry and Ron would talk Quidditch and ask a question to Avaya once in a while. Nothing personal though, so she would take a pause in her readings to politely answer. Before they even realized it, they had to change in their school robe and they had arrived. Harry and Ron were surprised when Avaya started following the First Years, but she told them that those were her instructions and that she would see them back in the Great Hall. Harry wished her good luck and they both waved at her as they jumped in a carriage.

Avaya followed Hagrid and the rest of the First Years. When they had their first view of Hogwarts, there was a loud "Ooooh!" and Avaya thought she would like to come back to this site and draw the castle from this angle. She would have to ask Hagrid later if it was possible. Considering how dark it was around her right now, she would have difficulties finding the way back. Then they all climbed in one of the boats. Avaya was sharing hers with the Weasley girl, a blond girl that seemed to be lost in her thoughts and a brown hair boy that was way too excited for her taste.

The little boats crossed the lake and took them along a dark tunnel which seemed to go under the castle. They finally reached some sort of underground harbour and they followed Hagrid to the gigantic oak front door. When Hagrid knocked on the door, it was opened by McGonagall and they all hurried inside. She showed them into a small empty chamber off the Hall and they crowded in.

"Welcome to Hogwarts" said Professor McGonagall. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted in your Houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your House will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your House, sleep in your House dormitory and spend free time in your House common room."

Avaya listened to the Professor with half an ear only. She was studying the First Years around her closely, but subtly. "The four Houses" the Professor continued, "are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Each House has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your House points, while any rule-breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the House with the most points is awarded the House Cup, a great honour. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever House become yours."

Minerva noticed how the Black girl slightly put her chin up at her last comment. She felt like there was something behind the act, but she didn't know what and that bothered her. "The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting. I shall return when we are ready for you. Please wait quietly" finished the Professor before leaving the chamber.

Avaya listened to the quiet chatter of the nervous students. Most were wondering how they would exactly be sorted when the ghosts showed up. Avaya slowly moved at the back of the group, so she could keep an eye on everyone. She would be last to be sorted anyways, so better be at the end of the group instead of in the middle. She was no First Year after all.

"Move along now" said a sharp voice. "The Sorting Ceremony's about to start." Professor McGonagall had returned. One by one, the ghosts floated away through the opposite wall. "Now, form a line and follow me" directed the woman.

The First Years got in line and Avaya made sure she was last. They walked out of the chamber, back across the Hall and through a pair of double doors into the Great Hall. All the new students looked around and at the ceiling that reflected the outside starry sky in amazement. Avaya knew better. Since her case was different, she wanted to make a good impression on her future House and so, with her mask not failing, she looked straight forward. She noticed Ron and Harry smiling at her and she slightly bowed her head in their direction. She also saw Draco looking gloomily at her, and she laughed inwardly. Yes, what was about to happen in the next minutes would definitely be fun.

Snape saw the sparkle in Black's eyes as she looked at Malfoy and wondered what it was about. He had not heard of any big magic being performed in the train and had assumed that the girl had listened to him. But now, he wasn't sure anymore. She had said that she would try not to do anything too flashy. He would have to talk with her after the feast... or ask Minerva to do it since she would probably be in her House. When he thought that he was about to lose such a good student to another House, Severus felt like banging his head on the table. But since it would have been hardly appropriate, he simply settled on scowling as the Sorting Ceremony started.

Avaya barely looked at McGonagall as she silently placed a four-legged stool in front of the first-years and put a pointed wizard's hat on the stool. The hat was patched and frayed and extremely dirty. Everyone in the Hall fell silent and stared at it. After a few seconds, it twitched and a rip near the brim opened wide like a mouth, and the hat began to sing.

Avaya listened closely, but didn't learn anything new. The hat just went on about his duties and the qualities of the four Houses. The girl was slowly growing impatient and barely heard when McGonagall directed: "When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted." And then she started calling the First Years alphabetically. Avaya didn't really pay attention. She noted that the boy from her boat, Colin Creevey, was sorted in Gryffindor and the blonde girl, Luna Lovegood, in Ravenclaw. Finally, Ginny Weasley was also sorted in Gryffindor and she was the only one left. The other students seemed to wonder what was going on when Dumbledore got to his feet.

"Everyone probably has noticed that we have one student left" he started, and every eyes turn to the small girl. "I would like to introduce Avaya Black who is new to Hogwarts but will be joining as a Second Year." Murmurs could be heard in the Great Hall, it was the first time the students witnessed such an event. "Miss Black, if you would please proceed with your sorting" finished Dumbledore with a smile and a twinkle in his eyes.

Avaya walked to the stool, took the hat, put it on her hear and sat down, hoping it wouldn't take too long to convince the magical artifact.

"Hmmm" said a small voice in her ear. "I don't remember having such a difficult choice since Mr Potter" the hat continued for itself.

"Well, that's interesting. I'll definitely remember to bring this up to him next time we talk" she murmured humorously.

"Oh, sorry about that." The hat sincerely sounded sorry, like it was something he meant to have said in its head, not in her ear. "Well, I see lots of potential; you're a very smart girl. And you don't lack any courage either. Not Hufflepuff though, you mistrust too much, even though I see some profound loyalty in you. And I see that you have lots of ambition and you're cunning and... But where to put you?"

"Well, if you want me to make your choice easier, I'd say Slytherin."

The hat didn't answer at first, as if it had been shocked by her statement. "Slytherin? Really? Why?"

"Easy enough, sorting hat" she replied, "I do not want to be in the Houses my parents were in, which were Gryffindor and Ravenclaw. I want nothing to do with them and I'd rather leave Hogwarts than to be associated with any of them in any ways. When you think that father is a murderer and mother is mentally unstable and never cared for me, I think I'm in my own rights to dissociate myself from them. Anyways, I want to make my own path in life. I want to prove that I can be who I want, no matter who my parents were or what they have done and regardless of the prejudiced thinking of everyone else. As you said, I'd make a poor Hufflepuff since I don't trust easily, but I think I'd make a hell of a Slytherin. I have set myself some objectives and I won't let anyone stop me from achieving them." _Not even you, Sorting Hat_, she almost added. "I believe this ambition is my most prominent trait, a very Slytherin one, don't you think?"

"Oh...uh, I think it's been a while since a student actually pleaded their case with me for one house or another instead of simply begging. But I see what you mean, and it is true that you would do really well in Slytherin, no doubts. If you're sure..."

Snape looked at the girl who was sitting on the stool and seemed to be having a discussion with the hat. _If only I could hear what they are saying_. He wondered why it was taking so long and looked at Albus who simply nodded at him with a knowing smile. He also noticed the Potter brat talking lowly with Weasley and he saw that they both shared the so annoying knowing smile too. _What the heck is going on here?_ But before he could really become paranoid about the whole situation, the hat's mouth finally opened.

"SLYTHERIN!" it yelled to Snape's bewilderment.

Avaya took off the hat and walked towards her House's table. She couldn't stop the smirk on her face when her eyes met Draco's. Her cousin was staring at her with mouth agape. Then his expression change for a suspicious one. Crabbe, Goyle and he were the only Slytherins not applauding her arrival in their House, but she didn't care. The look on her cousin's face had been priceless. She sat down at the end of the table and turned towards Snape who was staring at her, but at least not gaping. And she sent a true smile his way before looking at the Gryffindors. Harry and Ron were applauding her, not as noisily as the Slytherin, but with enough heart that the rest of their table looked at them as if they had gone mad. Avaya bowed her head to them.

MCGonagall had taken the hat away and Dumbledore had said some incoherent things before the food appeared on the tables. Avaya raised a brow at the older wizard. _Honestly, what an annoying old man_, she thought while serving herself. The feast had been quiet for her. The First Years she was sitting with must have found her intimidating because they didn't try to talk with her and simply shot some worried glances her way once in a while. That was fine with her. She didn't know how to do small chat and rather liked being left alone for this first night around so many people. She used that time to spy on her classmate and other students attending the school.

As the feast ended, Dumbledore got to his feet again, gave some of the school rules and made some general announcements. "And now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!" he cried.

Aya looked at Snape with a frown on her face that clearly meant something along the lines of "_You've got to be kidding me!_" But to her despair, the Potions Master only sneered and she interpreted it as "_In your dreams, old fool._" And so she opted for not singing. If her Head of House was not singing, then why would she have to?

Dumbledore had given his wand a little flick and a long golden ribbon had flown out of it and had risen high above the tables. Words appeared on it. "Everyone pick their favourite tune" said the Headmaster, "and off we go!"

At the cacophony that rose in the Great Hall, Avaya raised a brow even higher. It seemed, however, that her House didn't share the fun as most of them just sat there and stared at the Headmaster or at other students with disgust. Everybody finished the song at different times, the Weasley twins being the last to the tune of a very slow funeral march. Aya had to admit that those two had characters. She already liked them. The Great Hall erupted in hand clapping and Avaya applauded at least the twins. Strangely, they both looked at her at the same moment. She bowed her head at them and both smiled back at her after Harry murmured something. She wondered what he had told them and added it to her list of things to ask next time they would talk.

"Ah, music" Dumbledore said, wiping his eyes. "There is no stronger magic in any world" he said throwing a glance at Avaya. _What was that about_, thought the girl, suddenly suspicious of the older wizard. "And now, bedtime. Off you trot!"

Avaya followed the other students to the Slytherins' common room, where everyone gathered, obviously waiting for something to happen. The girl found a place in one of the darkest corner and stayed quiet, waiting. She didn't have to wait for long though. A few minutes after they had all taken place in the common room, the door opened and Professor Snape came in. _Well, that should have been expected_, she thought.

Severus entered in his snakes' common room for his beginning of the year speech. He looked around, noting the worried look on the First Year's faces. He finally saw the Black girl, retreated in a dark corner and observing quietly what was going on. _Maybe she is more a Slytherin than I first thought, how strange that I could have misjudged her so badly._ One more glance through the room and he started.

"All of you are Slytherins" he said with no preamble. "And this means that you all have a potential other students did not have, a potential for great power; and the rest of the world will envy you for that. But they will also mistrust you and fear you. Fear what you might become, fear what you represent. This House is one of pride, power, cunning and survival. Outside the walls of the common room, you must be united for you will face constant suspicion from other students and professors. This means that Slytherin is also a House of unity and internal strength. You _must_ be united if you are to survive. I will not support petty quarrels among you. You are your own support. Always remember that. I expect you to be successful while you are here. If you are not, or if your thoughtless acts disgrace the House, you will answer to me." He looked around and made sure the message had been understood. "Are there any questions?" he asked. When no one spoke out, he finished. "Very well, tomorrow morning, you will be given your class schedule. Do not be late." And as the students started heading out to their dorms, Snape thought that now was just as good a time as ever. "Miss Black, follow me" he instructed.

"Yes, Sir" she answered.

Draco looked at the girl as she trailed their Head of House out of the common room and slouched in the nearest armchair. He noticed that the other Second Years where still around. "What?" he asked angrily. He was not in the mood for Slytherin's games; it had been an exhausting day.

Blaise raised his chin and answered for them all. "Well, isn't it obvious that you know her? So why don't you tell us what you know Draco?" he smirked.

Draco took his head in his hands and groaned. "I don't know anything, Zabini. I've met her twice before, but I don't anything about her" he admitted exasperated.

"But she's a Black" stated Pansy.

"Well, maybe she is, maybe she's not" replied Draco dryly, not explaining what he meant. Frustrated, he rose and walked to his dormitory where he directly went to sleep, not saying another word. Crabbe and Goyle followed him silently, and soon enough all the others did the same.

* * *

In the meantime, Avaya was in the Potions Master's office and wondered what she was doing there on the first day of school.

"Miss Black, I wanted to discuss one or two things with you" the Professor started. "First, if you are still willing to study more advanced potions, I was thinking of taking you as apprentice, if you are interested."

"I'd love too, Sir" she simply answered.

"Good, I will let you know later during the week about the day and time of those lessons. Now, I would like to know what happened between you and Mr Malfoy."

The girl blushed and murmured a "Nothing, Sir."

"Miss Black, do not take me for a fool. I noticed how Mr Malfoy looked at you during the feast. Now I would rather you tell me what happened then hearing it from hearsays."

"I didn't do any magic, Sir" she stated defensively. And when he didn't reply, she continued. "He just came in the compartment I was sharing with Harry and Ron, saying he would take some of our candies. The boys obviously jumped on their feet, ready for a fight just like the Gryffindors they are, so I had to intervene."

Severus just felt like smiling at her comment about the Potter brat and his friend, but that, once again, would have been hardly appropriate. "So what did you do to get rid of Mr Malfoy if you did not use magic?" he asked.

"I... Uh... I threw back some of the insults at him and made some hidden threats, Sir" she replied unsure.

Snape hid a small smile behind his hands. "Well, Miss Black, if I had any doubts that you were a Slytherin, I don't anymore." And he saw the girl relaxed at the praise. "But, try to get along with Mr Malfoy in the future as he is one of your housemate."

She looked at him with a mischievous smile. "Oh, I was already planning on that, Sir. I can't have the only cousin I know hate me. But I just thought that the lesson would serve him well. He'll be less inclined of messing up with me now that he knows I'm not an easy target" she finished laughing.

Snape was satisfied, but also a bit surprised at the information she had let in. "How do you know that Mr Malfoy is your cousin?" he asked curious.

"Oh!" she started suddenly serious. "I found two books about the pure-blood families last time we went to Diagon Alley. I was able to get some info about my parents' lineage. The Blacks are a really old pure-blood family. It would seem that Draco's mother was a cousin of my father, which makes Draco a second-cousin or something like that. I think I'm somewhat related to the Weasleys too, but it was so far in the line that I didn't really bother with it. I guess most of the pure-bloods are related anyways, which is disgusting in a way. I wonder what geneticists would have to say about that..." she trailed off.

Snape felt like laughing. The way Avaya Black could jump from one subject to another and be so carefree when she wasn't keeping herself in check was simply refreshing. "I agree with you, Miss Black" he said trying not to snigger. "And what did you find about your mother's lineage?"

"Not much, Sir. Her father was from a pure-blood line that moved from Canada and her mother was adopted. And I couldn't find info about her real parents, so there's a blank there."

Snape nodded. He had discovered the same. "I have some news for you concerning your mother." He got her mother's diary out of his desk. "The Headmaster asked me to give this back to you. He said he shouldn't have further need of it."

"Burn it then" she spat looking at the book.

Severus looked carefully at the girl and noticed her irises had grown almost black. And if he paid attention, he could feel her power reaching out. "If you'd rather not have it, I'll keep it safe until you change your mind" he said cautiously.

"I will never change my mind. I don't wanna have anything to do with it! IT'S HERS!" she suddenly yelled.

He felt a surge of power coming from the child and, for once, he thought he understood why Dumbledore was suspicious of the girl. He dropped the book and walked to her. He knelt in front of her and took both of her shoulders. "It's okay, Avaya. Calm down. I won't force you to take it back" he said in a gentle voice. He saw the girl's eyes focusing on him and slowly going back to their original brown colour.

The girl looked panicked for a second. "I'm so sorry, Sir. I didn't mean to yell at you."

"Tell me" he simply asked. He saw some tears forming in her eyes, but she didn't shed them.

"When I get angry... I... I get out of control, I guess" she tried explaining.

"Is that why you hide your emotions and use a mask?"

"If I don't feel then I can't get angry, and if I don't get angry, everyone else is safe. Who knows what I can do when it happens. I'm usually able to restrain it pretty quickly though, like at Diagon Alley" she explained, "but I would prefer not to take any chances."

"Maybe I can find something to help you with that, but I'm afraid you won't like the first suggestion I will make." The girl only shrugged, and he considered it enough of an answer to keep going. "You need to talk about what makes you angry. You need to find someone you trust enough so you can talk freely about it. Easier said than done, I know. But please consider it. And if you don't have anyone else and want to talk, my door is opened. But you can't keep everything bottled up inside or it will simply blow up one day."

"I know" she mumbled.

"Good enough for now." He took a chair and sat directly in front of her. "Now, there is one last thing I need to tell you, even though the subject is not pleasant. The Headmaster and I agreed that the Ministry had to be informed about how your mother treated you. They launched a search for her and it is expected that as soon as they found her, she will be brought to justice for child neglect. Do you understand what it means?" asked Severus worriedly.

"It means that when they find her, there will be a trial and I'll have to talk to someone from the Ministry" she answered with a sigh.

"Yes, Avaya. And that is why I will reiterate what I said earlier. If you need to talk about anything, don't hesitate to come to me."

"Thank you, Sir" she said almost in a whisper.

"Now, if you don't have any questions, I suggest you go to bed. You will have a busy day tomorrow, and it wouldn't do to fall asleep in your first classes."

The girl simply nodded and walked out of his office. As she walked back to the common room, Severus pondered everything he had learnt about the small girl in one night. He wondered what the future would hold for her and hoped that she would be able to make some good friends to help her in the difficult times that were waiting ahead. Since he didn't feel like reporting any of the things he had learnt tonight to Albus, he simply went to bed himself.

* * *

Avaya walked back to her dormitory, changed in her pyjamas and went straight to bed. The talk with Professor Snape had made her exhausted and she had a feeling that the night would not be easy on her either. For once, she wished she had bought her own ingredients so she could have brewed a Dreamless Sleep potion. Resigned, she laid down in her bed, took her walkman out and let the music heal her broken soul. The night would be long... or actually, short. And she had forgotten to tell the Professor about the incident at the Platform...


	7. A busy week

**Chapter 7  
A busy week**

Avaya Black woke up really early the next morning. The night had plagued her with nightmares and even the music had not kept the worse away. She got up, showered, dressed in her Slytherin uniform and went down to the common room with a book and her music. It was way too early for breakfast and the Great Hall would probably still be closed. At six thirty, Avaya decided she could start heading for breakfast and without closing her book or taking off her earphones, she walked out of the dungeons. She did not notice that she was being followed, or that someone was calling her name.

She wasn't far from the dungeons when someone grabbed her shoulder. Not knowing what to expect, Avaya reacted on instinct. She spun around in the blink of an eye and pointed her wand at the throat of the unwelcomed visitor. She barely noticed the lightning blue spark at the tip of her wand, but she had a good look at the boy though. She screwed up her eyes, took off her earphones and addressed the boy in a low, cold tone.

"Theodore Nott" she stated. "What can I do for you?"

Nott had been shocked by her reaction, but since she had not cursed him yet, he assumed it was safe to talk. "I saw you leaving the common room and since I was going to breakfast I wanted to suggest we go together. I wanted to introduce myself, but I see it's not really necessary" he said a sheepish smile on his face. "I'm sorry to have startled you, honest."

Avaya sighed. "I'm sorry for my reaction. I didn't hear you following me because of the music" she clarified pointing at the headphones resting around her neck. "I was lost in my thoughts" she finished as if it explained everything. She put her wand back in the inside pocket of her robe and extended her hand to the boy. "Avaya Black, but you can call me Aya, it's nice to meet you."

Nott shook her hand and smiled at her. "Call me Teddy" he replied.

They walked silently to the Great Hall and sat at the Slytherin table. They were the only two students and only the Headmaster and McGonagall were already at the Head table. Avaya put her closed book on the table and stopped the cassette in her walkman before getting some food on her plate. She saw how Teddy looked curiously at the book and at the Muggle device. "Go ahead, ask your questions Teddy, else they will never get answered" she told the boy.

He wondered where to start and opted for the obvious. "Medical magic? You want to become a medi-witch?" he asked.

"Hmmm... I didn't really give it a thought. I guess it could be interesting. But I'm reading this book purely out of curiosity. And you never know when such spells could be useful, right?"

"Yes, obviously. Maybe I could borrow it when you are done with it. As you said, it could prove useful."

Avaya nodded. She had a feeling there was more to it than what was just said, but she didn't push it. "That wouldn't be a problem. And if you ever want to practice, I'll let you know when I do." He looked at her in horror and she realized what he must be thinking and laughed quietly. "I'm not hurting myself to practice the spells, Teddy. I'm talking about the ones that create bandages, tourniquet, stretchers, splints and stuff like that."

He nodded, relieved. "Then I would love to participate" he said. "Are you only practicing medical magic?" he asked curious.

"No, I also have books about Defence, hexes, curses, jinxes and charms. You're welcome to help yourself with the ones I already read" she suggested.

"Wow, thanks. Are you sure you're not a Ravenclaw?" he asked jokingly. But when he saw the girl's face grow sombre, he apologized. "I'm sorry, Aya. I guess I shouldn't have said that."

"It's all right, you don't know so you couldn't help it" she murmured. And there was a silence as Teddy though about what she had just said.

"So what's that thing you carried here and you had on your ears earlier?" he asked, hoping to get her back in a good mood.

Avaya laughed silently and her eyes were sparkling when she looked at him again. "I guess you wouldn't know since you're a pure-blood. You guys simply don't know what you miss sometimes by separating yourself from the Muggles" she replied. "This" she continued, getting the walkman out of her pocket, "is used to listen to music. You put the cassette in it and you can listen to it through those" she explained, showing the cassette and how it introduced in the walkman and finally pointing at the earphones. "Why don't you try it?" While Teddy was putting the earphones on his ears, she rewound the cassette so it would be at the beginning and pressed play. The boy slightly jumped as the sound started and looked delighted by the experience. Aya let him enjoy the music and started eating again. When the song was done, Teddy dropped the earphones on the table and Aya took it all back, stopping the cassette, putting the earphones around her neck once more before hiding the walkman back in her pocket.

"I..." started the boy, "Thanks for that, but what was it, I've never heard that song before."

"This, my dear Teddy" she said smiling, "was the first movement of the _Autumn_ part of Antonio Vivaldi's _Four Seasons._ And if you've never heard it before, I guess it means that Vivaldi was a Muggle."

Teddy seemed thoughtful for a moment as he registered the information. "You'll have to make me listen to more of that music, it was... I don't know how to say it" he finished hesitantly.

"It touches your soul; that is what you are trying to say, Teddy" she whispered to him like a conspirator.

Snape entered the Great Hall just as Nott laughed. He walked to the Head table and kept an eye on his two students. He was used by now to see the boy so early at breakfast, but he was surprised to see him in company of Black. Nott was usually more of a loner, not hanging around Malfoy or his gang and being really quiet. Well, the two of them had some things in common then, he thought.

"So how is it that your Muggle device works here? I thought all the magic around Hogwarts made them dysfunctional or something" asked Ted.

"Uh... I'm not sure. When I first arrived, it didn't work as you said. So I simply did some of my magic and now it works just fine" she said giving him a partial answer.

"When you first arrived?" he noticed. "You mean like yesterday?" Teddy knew that this was a critical question. She would either tell him the truth or keep the facade. He hoped he could encourage her to open up to him, but Slytherins knew when to push and when to back up, and this was not the time for pushing.

Avaya considered the boy in front of her. Her first reaction had been to agree, but something in the boy's voice had kept her from doing it. She shot a glance at Snape who was now sitting at the Head table and remembered their discussion from the previous night. She had to talk, he had said, to someone she could trust. She trusted the Professor, but she knew he reported back to Dumbledore and so she didn't feel like she could tell him everything. And she already had said too much the night before. But here was someone else in front of her. Someone not linked to the Headmaster in any ways; someone who was extending a helping hand in a very Slytherin manner. Could she trust him? _Should_ she trust him?

"Tell me, Theodore" she suddenly said seriously, staring straight in his blue eyes, "to what extent do you wish to hear the truth?"

The boy also became serious, which he had not done once that morning. "To whatever extent you wish to share with me, Avaya."

She could tell that it was really what he thought. So he wouldn't push her for details she didn't want to give, which was a point for him. But she didn't want her life to become the next subject of gossip either. "And what if I said that unless you want to hear the already told stories, you would have to promise to keep the untold version to yourself?" she asked, raising a brow.

Teddy's eye never looked at anything else than the girl's chocolate eyes. "I swear on my magic that your secrets are safe with me" he promised solemnly.

Avaya knew he didn't lie. She could tell from his eyes. "Very well" she replied with a mischievous smile. "And what do I get in exchange for the info you seek?" she asked playing Slytherin.

Nott laughed at the turnaround and said in a banal tone, "What if I told you that Malfoy is overly frustrated with the fact that he doesn't know anything about you, can't seem to be able to read you and doesn't have a clue of what to do about it?"

The girl smiled widely and answered, "Well, you've just brighten up my day, dear Teddy." But her smile didn't last long and she was all serious again. "I arrived at Hogwarts two weeks ago" she started. And from there she told him about her mother simply ignoring her for that last eleven years, her teaching herself everything, from reading and writing to advanced maths and other Muggle subjects, her mother deserting her, the agreement with Dumbledore for skipping First Year, her father, her need to be dissociated from her parents and her trust issues. She kept some things to herself such as how powerful she really was, how dangerously angry she could get, her apprenticeship with Snape, her mixed feelings about Dumbledore and her hidden ambition for being in Slytherin. Students had started to come in for breakfast. One stare from Teddy had convinced the Slytherins that they would have a better day if they just stayed away from them. She had just finished her story when Malfoy and his little gang sat at the table. Avaya smirked and told Teddy in a hushed voice, "I know I shouldn't enjoy frustrating him so much, but my cousin is so obvious sometimes. I just can't help myself."

Teddy laughed silently at the remark. He had to agree with the girl. It was quite fun to see Malfoy in such a state. But he didn't keep his thoughts on the other boy for very long. He replayed everything Avaya Black had told him in the last hour. At some point, Snape gave them their schedule for the term and Teddy was still lost in his thoughts when Aya pulled him out of the Great Hall to gather their things for the morning classes. He couldn't believe how a mother could act that way with her own child. And he just couldn't erase Avaya's sad and too mature brown eyes from his memory. He had wanted to know, and now he knew. He had a feeling that she still had not told him everything, but that was fine, she had said more than he would have ever expected. She had been honest and, more importantly, she had trusted him. He wondered why, but decided it was unimportant. He also had been honest: he would keep her secrets locked in his heart until she decided it was time for the world to know. Knowing and understanding now how difficult it was for her to trust, he swore to never betray that trust. He looked at the silent girl walking next to him towards their History class and suddenly felt really protective of her. He knew that she didn't need him to protect her, the episode from the morning had been proof enough; but Theodore Nott, only child and loner, now thought of Avaya Black as his little sister. And no one would be allowed to hurt her in any way, he ferociously decided.

* * *

The morning classes were over and Draco headed to the Great Hall for lunch. He had seen that morning the Black girl getting along with Nott. He wasn't sure what to think about it, except that it frustrated him even more. How was it that Nott had been able to approach her while he was only able to get her mad, it would seem? It was enraging him, and when he saw them both sitting together and eating lunch, he was in an even worse mood. Finally, Black left the Hall after saying something to the other boy and Malfoy seized the opportunity. He needed answers and Nott would give them. He left his plate there and went to sit in front of Nott.

"It seems you're getting along pretty well with Black, Nott" he stated.

"Get lost, Malfoy" replied the boy dryly, not even looking at him. "If you want information, be a man and go ask her yourself. She doesn't bite, you know?"

"Talk for yourself, Nott" he retorted, growing impatient. "Even if I asked her, she would not answer. That's why I'm asking you. You two have been together all morning, so why don't you tell me what you learnt?"

"I don't have what you want, Malfoy" Teddy replied coldly, blue eyes in grey eyes. "And even if I did, I wouldn't tell you. For once, Malfoy, you'll have to work to get what you want. Good luck with that" he finished before getting on his feet and leaving the Hall.

"Crap!" exclaimed an even more irritated Draco.

* * *

Avaya had followed Harry and Ron in the overcast courtyard and called them as she walked towards them. She saw the brown haired girl looked suspiciously at her, probably because of her Slytherin crest, but she didn't care.

"Harry! Ron!" she yelled once more and both boys looked up and grinned at her.

"Hey, Aya! Told you it would take some convincing, right?" said Harry.

"So how are you enjoying the snakes' pit?" asked a mildly amused Ron.

Aya raised her brow at the latter. "Actually, it's not so bad so far, Ron. I'll have to introduce both of you to Teddy one day" she said with a mischievous smile. "Oh, and I had a question or two for you Harry."

"Shoot" said Harry making a painful face jokingly.

"The Hat said something very interesting last night about you having been a hard one to sort" she stated matter-of-factly. When she saw Harry winced at the question, she guessed she could tell the answer. "Never mind that one then. But one day, you'll have to tell me the details" she continued with a knowing smile. "Next, what did you tell the Weasley twins last night?"

At this one, both Ron and Harry erupted in laughter. And it's actually Ron who answered. "He promised he would introduce you to them" said Ron trying hard not to laugh. "You have no idea how pleased they were. I think the only thing that could have surpassed it would have been a meeting with Zonko's Jokes' inventor."

"Yeah" added Harry. "If I were you, I'd be extra careful when I'll actually introduce you to them. They're planning something and I don't know what."

"Don't worry for me, Harry" she answered, and turning to Ron, "I would be pleased to meet your brothers, Ron. Maybe we can arrange a time?"

"What about tonight, after supper, you can come to the Gryffindor tower with us, have a look at the fun you're missing" suggested Harry.

"Sure, I'll follow you after supper" she replied.

And stepping between the two boys, she walked to the brown haired girl. "Since it seems that those two" she said pointing at the boys, "clearly have no intention of introducing us," she extended a hand, "let me do it. I'm Avaya Black."

Hermione looked strangely at the girl and shook her hand. "Hermione Granger" she simply replied.

"Nice to meet you, Hermione."

"I'm sure you and Hermione will get along" interjected Ron. "You both seem to share a passion for books, if I remember the train ride properly" he finished.

But before the discussion go could any further, a really red Colin Creevey approached Harry. Aya remembered the boy from the boat ride, the annoyingly overexcited boy. It would seem he had not settled down yet.

"All right, Harry? I'm... I'm Colin Creevey" said the boy breathlessly, taking a tentative step forward. "I'm in Gryffindor, too. D'you think... would it be all right if... can I have a picture?" he finished raising the camera hopefully.

Avaya barely heard the rest of the boy's rambling. She felt like casting the _Silencio_ at him, but she doubted the Gryffindors would appreciate. She looked around the courtyard and saw Teddy, leaning on a wall and looking at her. She was about to wave him when a voice interrupted her.

"_Signed photos?_ You're giving out _signed photos_, Potter?" Loud and scathing, Draco Malfoy's voice echoed around the courtyard. He had stopped right behind Colin, flanked, as always, by his large and thuggish cronies, Crabbe and Goyle. "Everyone queue up!" Malfoy roared to the crowd. "Harry Potter's giving out signed photos!"

Avaya started moving towards her beloved cousin as Harry denied the allegation and told Draco to shut up. She threw an icy stare at the Creevey boy, cutting straight what he was about to say. The boy simply gulped and moved away.

"What about _I _give some signed photos, Draco, of me kicking your sorry ass?" she asked playfully.

Crabbe and Goyle tried to take a step forward, but Malfoy stopped them short. And from the corner of her eye, Avaya saw Teddy tensing up and taking a step forward. "Or better" she added with another of her mischievous smiles, "how about you send a photo to your parents proving how much you wish you'd be like Potter" and as she said this, she concentrated on her magic on what she wanted to achieve.

Draco felt the magic and suddenly, he wasn't so confident anymore. What was she going to do to him? Should he simply go for a run? No, not with all the people around, it was not an option. Before he knew what was going on, people in the courtyard started sniggering and giggling. Even the Slytherins couldn't help themselves. _What is going on? What did she do?_

Avaya was quite impressed with herself. She really had done it this time. She conjured a small mirror and put it in front of her cousin's eyes. "Don't you look dashing, Draco" she said. "Just the perfect look" she added.

Draco took a peek at the mirror and was horrified by what he saw. He had green eyes! He had brown messy hair! He saw both Crabbe and Goyle's questioning looks and he wished they could have taken care of the Black girl for him. "Change it back" he growled at the girl.

Avaya laughed and took his left arm in her right. "I'll see you later" she said to Harry, who simply couldn't believe what had happened. "Now, Draco, dear" she told in a patronizing tone as she started pulling him away from the courtyard, "why would I do such a thing? I rather like your new look, you know? And you don't have to be jealous of Potter anymore, see, I'm all yours" she continued. "Now, whether you decide to pout like a little kid or use this time to, let's say, get one answer to one of your undoubtedly numerous questions, that is your choice, Draco" she finished finally letting go of his arm. They were in a quiet hallway and only Crabbe and Goyle had followed them from afar.

Draco couldn't believe what she was saying. How could she know about his frustration of not knowing anything about her. _Nott, of course. He must have told her about last night. Damn him. Well, actually, it might be because of him that she is now offering one answer. ONE answer. I have to choose carefully._ "Who are you?" he asked.

"Is that your question, Draco?" she said raising a brow. Draco confirmed with a nod. "Hmmm... who am I? You know, I could answer this question in a dozen different ways, and none of them would be satisfactory to you. You should learn to use your cunning to get the exact answer you want, dear cousin" she answered seriously.

Draco was about to yell at her when something struck him. "Wait, I don't have any cousins" he said looking suspiciously at the girl.

"Well, I beg to differ, Draco, even though the exact term would be more like second-cousin. You asked me who I am, and since I feel like being nice, I will tell you the answer you seek, cousin of mine. My father is Sirius Black, but he himself doesn't know it" she finished. She put a finger on his forehead and murmured a _Finite_. "Wonderful things they are, glamour charms" she explained. "Well, see you around, Draco" she said as she walked away.

_What the heck just happened?_ Well, she had given him one of the answers he was looking for, and probably the most important one. But she had still made fun of him. _Maybe she just likes annoying me._ It never occurred to Draco that she might actually have been defending Potter and therefore making a stand for the second time in two days. When Draco confirmed in the nearest bathroom that he looked like himself once more, he walked to their afternoon class, making a list of questions to ask Black next time she would give him the opportunity. Tonight, he would have to send an owl at home and report what he had found out. No doubt his mother would be interested to know about his supposed cousin.

* * *

After an interesting, but short, meeting with the twins, Avaya walked back to the Slytherin common room. She was going to grab her books to start working on her homework in the library, but her plans were interrupted as she entered the room and heard two familiar voices.

"I will not repeat myself again, Malfoy. Just leave her alone. She doesn't need a prat like you harassing her with undue questions" Teddy warned in a low voice.

Of course, Draco being Draco, which meant being arrogant and full of himself, could never simply backed down like that, and certainly not in public. "I will say and ask whatever I want to Black, Nott" he growled. And raising his voice so the whole common room could hear, he asked haughtily "What are you anyways? Her bodyguard, her boyfriend? I don't know what she'd see in you, honestly" he sneered.

But before Teddy could answer with his own nasty retort, her own cold voice was heard in the whole room, sending a chill down everyone's spine. "Enough! Both of you!" She walked to the two boys, her eyes cold with disapproval.

"Prove it" demanded Malfoy.

Everyone in the room, Nott included, wondered what this was about. It was not like the girl had said anything that would require a proof or anything. They were all confused, but Avaya wasn't. She knew what her cousin wanted and was simply impressed that he had not asked for proofs earlier that day. She nodded to him and looked at both boys with a stare that meant they were to behave in her absence. She walked to her dorm room to fetch what she needed. When she came back, the room was still silent. She could see the curiosity in everyone's face and mostly in her fellow second year. She held the documents to Draco who took them carefully, keeping an eye on her.

Malfoy had two pieces of paper in his hands. The first one was the girl's birth certificate. He noticed the date; his supposed second cousin had turned twelve a couple of days ago. He saw the name of Sirius Black as father, but this didn't prove it. The second paper was the certificate from the Ministry confirming that she was indeed Black's daughter and that she had full access to her dad's bank vault.

Nott, who had read the documents upside down, knew what this was about. He was a bit relieved that Avaya had told the other boy about their shared family, but he wondered how the Malfoys in general would react to this fact.

Draco couldn't believe his eyes. The Ministry's document made it quite clear: this girl was indeed a Black. He wasn't sure what should be his next move and he knew that his mother could help him there. A good thing he had not had the time to send his letter yet. "Could I make a copy of these documents, Avaya?" he asked as politely as he could. She was family and one had to treat family properly, unless they were blood-traitors, and even if her father had been one, she was a Slytherin; that alone spoke a great deal about the girl. "My mother will need to see them as she doesn't know about you."

The girl seemed to think about it for one or two seconds and nodded. Draco made his copies and gave back the originals to... his cousin. "Thank you" he said. "Would you mind me asking what happened that made you join Hogwarts this year instead of last?" he asked, trying not to sound demanding or arrogant.

"That, cousin, is information that I am not ready to give you" answered Avaya, also trying not to sound too harsh. "And you can't expect me to spill my guts in front of the whole room" she said sarcastically, looking hard at everyone staring until they turned back to their own business. She then turned to Teddy. "I'm heading to the library to start on our homework, if you want to join me, you're more than welcome" she whispered to him before leaving to go fetch her books.

Nott didn't even look at Malfoy as he also left to go get his books and a couple of minutes later both of them exited towards the library. Draco was deep in his thoughts and had not heard his classmates gather around him.

"So, she _is_ your cousin" stated Pansy.

"It would seem so, yes" he simply answered to the annoying girl. He was not in the mood to answer some stupid questions, so he left for his dorm room, where he wrote his letter.

_Dearest Mother,_

_I hope this letter finds you well and that you will not mind if I simply go straight to the point.  
There is new development concerning the Black issue. I am aware that the news will be shock to you, and with the approval of the involved person, I am sending you copies of two documents that prove the veracity of this statement: Avaya Black is the daughter of Sirius Black. I personally did not want to believe it at first, but as you can see on the Ministry's paper, there is little place for doubts._

_Here is some other information you might consider useful to know:  
- It would seem that Sirius is not aware of the existence of his daughter, though I do not know why or how it was made possible.  
- She as joined Hogwarts as a Second Year, but she will not tell me, yet, what has happened to provoke the change.  
- She has been sorted to Slytherin.  
- She seemed to have made friend with Theodore Nott._

_I can also inform you that twice already she confronted me.  
The first time happened on the train ride when I went in Potter's compartment and did not notice her. She somewhat defended Potter and Weasley, insulted Crabbe and Goyle and threatened us. Overall, the experience was an eye opener as I then realized how much of a Slytherin she was.  
The second time was in the courtyard as she once again defended Potter before performing what she called "glamour charms" on me. No need to say that I was not really happy with her, but before I knew it she had walked me in some empty hallway. She then told me about her father and removed the charms._

_I am unsure as what to think about her. Either she made friend with Potter, or she simply likes to annoy me, or maybe even both. I agree with Father however that she is a powerful witch: I was able to feel the magic around us as she performed her charms, wandlessly and silently. Maybe she even created them like she did in Diagon Alley._

_I am seeking your advice, Mother, as I do not know how you and Father would want me to treat her. Her father was a blood-traitor, but she is a Slytherin and from what you told me of Sirius, she is nothing like him. She has a sarcastic and somewhat dark sense of humour, a bit like Severus, very fitting of our House, and I must admit that I would enjoy it myself if it was not directed at me most of the time. I have not observed much more yet as it had been only one day in Hogwarts, but I will inform you of anything new that I learn if that is your wish._

_With all my affection,  
Draco_

* * *

The rest of the week had gone pretty smoothly for Avaya. She had spent her evenings in the library working on homework or simply reading, and she had even introduced Teddy to the Gryffindor trio. Teddy was still uneasy around them and vice versa, but the Slytherin boy had not made a faux pas yet, Harry and Ron knew better since her speech on prejudices and Hermione was simply curious by now. Of course, the two boys told them everything about the Lockhart's fiasco during their first class and even though the "professor" had not repeated his mistake, Avaya had not been impressed by her own DADA class, which could have been easily summed up in one sentence: Lockhart bragging about his alleged exploits. The only other class worth talking about had been Potions, where she had paired up with a Gryffindor boy named Neville Longbottom. Since she had known from the start that she could brew perfectly the potion, she had let the nervous boy try, preparing the ingredients and walking him through the steps. She had noticed that Professor Snape was making the boy even more nervous and she stared coldly at the man when he would get too near their table. It had had the desired effect in that Snape had stayed away and Neville had been able, with her help, to brew an acceptable potion; even though the Potions Master had not seemed happy with her. But since the man never really seemed happy, it didn't bother her too much.

So the week passed quickly and soon enough it was already Saturday. Avaya had received a note earlier that week stating that her first apprentice tutoring would happen the Saturday afternoon and she couldn't wait. As per her habit, she had woken up early, read a bit and headed to the Great Hall. She was savouring some eggs and pumpkin juice when Ron and Hermione also entered the Hall. She waved at them and they walked to her. The fact that the Hall was almost empty probably contributed to the two Gryffindors voluntarily approaching the Slytherin table.

"Good morning Ron, Hermione" she said as they drew closer. "I was not aware that you were such an early person, Ron" she noted teasingly.

"I'm not" answered a still half asleep Ron. "But Harry has his first Quidditch practice this morning and we thought we could drop and see how the team's been doing."

"Would you mind if I join you? I've read one or two books about that sport, but it would be nice to have a first feel of it before any actual game."

"Well, no offence" started Hermione, "but you are a Slytherin. I doubt your presence there would be seen as appropriate."

Ron seemed unsure of what to say, but it didn't look like he totally agreed with his friend.

Avaya counted to three to keep her tone from being too sarcastic, but you could still hear it as she replied. "Well, I will not take personal the fact that you seem so quick to associate me being in Slytherin with me wanting to spy on your Quidditch team. Would you have said the same thing to one of your Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw associates?" Seeing the confused look on the Gryffindor girl, she didn't wait for an answer. "I would have thought that you, a muggle-born, of all people would not be so quick to adhere to some of the most common prejudices. I'm not often wrong, but I have to admit that this time, it is quite disappointing."

Before Hermione could say something stupid again, Ron intervened. "I'm sure Harry and the twins would be happy to see you there, Aya. It's not like we don't trust you. You're our friend after all." He smiled nervously, hoping that Hermione would keep her mouth shut.

Avaya looked thoughtfully at Ron and not once looked back at the brown haired girl. She had a small smile as she answered. "Well, let's go then." The two Gryffindors took some toasts and marmalade and they were all on their way. They were sitting in the stands, thinking they had probably missed the end of the practice, when the team got out of the changing room still in their Quidditch robes.

"Aren't you finished yet?" called Ron incredulously.

"Haven't even started" said Harry. "Wood's been teaching us new moves." He mounted his broomstick and kicked at the ground, soaring up into the air.

Avaya, who wasn't a great fan of broom flying, still had to admit that she wished she could fly like Harry. It seemed so natural to him, so easy. And fun too. It didn't take long before she was pulled out of her reverie by some clicking noise. Turning around, she saw the Creevey boy with his camera. "Look this way, Harry! This way!" he cried shrilly. Avaya looked at him with disdain before shutting him out of her bubble. It took a great deal of will to simply do that instead of knocking the kid down, magically of course. She had her eyes back on the team when she saw one of them, followed by Harry and the twins, land on the ground in front of the Slytherin team. This was a bad omen. "Whatever they say, Ron, try that tactic we talked about in the train" she said as she rose. Ron didn't respond and he and Hermione soon caught up with her.

"Oh look" Avaya heard Flint saying. "A pitch invasion." Ron and Hermione were now in front of her and since she was slightly smaller than the two, she assumed Flint had not seen her.

"What's happening?" Ron asked Harry. "Why aren't you playing? And what's he doing here?" He was looking at Malfoy, taking in his Slytherin Quidditch robes. Avaya was quite disinterested right now, but that changed when she heard her cousin's voice. Now, she knew that the situation wouldn't take long to explode.

"I'm the new Slytherin Seeker, Weasley" said Malfoy, smugly. "Everyone's just been admiring the brooms my father's bought our team."

Ron gaped, open-mouthed, at the seven Nimbus 2001 in front of him.

"Good, aren't they?" said Malfoy smoothly. "But perhaps the Gryffindor team will be able to raise some gold and get new brooms, too. You could raffle off those Cleansweep Fives, I expect a museum would bid for them." The Slytherin team howled with laughter.

"At least no one on the Gryffindor team had to _buy_ their way in" said Hermione sharply. "They got in on pure talent." Avaya had to admire the retort, mostly coming from a Gryffindor. She smiled inwardly: at least one person of the Golden Trio knew how to play with the Slytherins.

The smug look on Malfoy's face flickered. "No one asked your opinion, you filthy little Mudblood" he spat.

And before any uproar could happen all were frozen on the spot by the power and rage coming from the smallest of the group: Avaya Black. And before anyone could realize what was happening, Avaya was standing in front of her cousin, eyes as dark and cold as a night in the dead of winter, and her right hand had connected with Draco's left cheek in a resounding SLAP! No one made a sound, still too shocked by what had just transpired. With a low voice that sent shivers down the spine of everyone there, she addressed her cousin, staring him straight in the eyes. "Tell me Draco, do you really understand what you are saying or are you such a mindless, arrogant prat that you must simply repeat whatever your Death Eater of a father says?" If the present people had not already been stunned, this would definitely have done it.

Theodore Nott, who had silently been following the Slytherin Quidditch team with a feeling that it would lead him to Avaya, had also been surprised by the events. He had not really heard what Malfoy had said, but the slap he had received was proof enough for him that he had definitely crossed Black's line. He could feel her anger and her power flowing out and, for the first time, he was really scared. Not of Avaya, well maybe a bit, but he was scared for Malfoy. While he didn't like the boy that much, he didn't wish him any harm. And he had to admit that he wasn't sure what Avaya would do to her cousin in a real fit of rage; so he decided his next course of action in a matter of seconds and started running towards the Great Hall, where he would find his Head of House.

Snape was slowly drinking his coffee when Nott came running in the Great Hall. One look at the boy's face and he knew who this was about. After all, Nott had not made a lot of close friends at Hogwarts, even in his own House. He wasn't ostracized or anything, but he was a quiet and lonely boy. Snape got to his feet and directed Nott out of the Hall, out of the old fool's hearing range. "Tell me, Mr Nott" he instructed sharply when they were far enough and alone. Teddy explained to the Potions Master what he had witnessed, what he had felt and what he feared. Snape didn't interrupt him but as soon as he was done, he started running towards the Quidditch pitch.

The only fact that Snape was actually running towards the Quidditch pitch instead of quickly walking there reinforced the bad feeling that Nott had. He was really hoping that Avaya wouldn't do anything stupid, but it was his actual first time seeing Avaya really getting angry and he wasn't sure what to think about it. By the time they got to their destination everyone was still standing and alive, but no one had moved or said anything.

Severus stopped running when he saw the group of kids. He covered some of the distance left in a couple of strides but soon was also frozen and he couldn't get any closer. He still tried and almost felt to his knees from fighting the power. He had not often met such a powerful magical barrier and he wasn't sure who he should worry about the most: the Malfoy heir or the Black girl. His worries grew even more when he started paying attention to what the girl was saying.

"Have you ever actually thought it out for yourself? Do you have any logical reasons to explain your stupidity or are you just some blindly loyal Hufflepuff who's been brainwashed into simply accepting his father's bullshit as if it came out of Merlin's mouth himself? Slytherins are cunning, cousin" she spat that last word, "they use their own mind to think out of the box and come with innovative ways of doing things and achieving their goals, no matter what others think of these ways. Cunning Slytherins do not follow blindly anyone, whether it is one's father or some power hungry, raving lunatic. You are just a really poor excuse of a Slytherin, and one of too many if I must admit." She took a deep breath before continuing. "It seems to me that you haven't learnt the lesson yet, even though I already tried to make you understand. It seems you are simply not smart enough to see reason through more gentle ways. So now, I'll just use the hard method, Draco." She still had her eyes locked on his and all her power seemed to react as she spoke the next words. "It is about time that you learn to think before speaking out whatever goes through your clueless mind. Do more thinking, less talking" she simply ordered.

With that, her power retreated back and she left the pitch, not looking back. Teddy and Snape stared at her as she passed them by but they also were ignored. When they both looked back at the rest of the students, everything seemed normal. Everything except this: Malfoy was yelling at the girl's back, but no sound was actually coming out.


	8. Turning Point

**Chapter 8  
Turning point**

Severus Snape was lying on his bed. He had not slept well; hell, he had barely slept at all, replaying the day's events in his head. Of course Madam Pomfrey had not found anything wrong with Malfoy and had attributed his voice loss to stress. She had recommended some rest, not that it would do anything to help anyways. Snape knew better. He had instructed everyone to keep their mouth shut about Black's outburst and the subsequent incident, and they had all agreed easily. Whether they were afraid of what he would do to them if they disobeyed or whether they simply cared enough for the girl to understand the gravity of the issue, Snape could guess. He had gotten the full scope of what had happened from the Golden Trio. Surprisingly enough, Weasley and Potter had seemed to worry more about Avaya not getting in trouble than them getting in trouble for not answering a teacher. After telling them, somewhat impatiently, that he had no intention to give the girl detentions, they had talked, still reluctantly, but they had told him what he wanted to know. Granger had not talked, her eyes switching from disapproval to something akin to shame. What had shocked the Potions Master was the way Potter had interacted with him. For once, the brat had not been cheeky or hateful. To a certain extent, he even had been respectful.

"You and I might not like each other, Sir" he had said just as he was leaving, "but it's clear that you care for Aya. I don't know lots about her and she doesn't open up easily, but I still consider her one of my friends, and I care about her too. She's a good person, Sir. I guess she just has issues. We all do."

Snape could hear those words resonating over and over again in his head. There had been something in the voice the boy had used that made him uncomfortable; some sort of wisdom or knowledge that is only found in people sharing certain experiences or secrets. He had too much on his mind to really bother about that detail, but it was something that he had noticed and would investigate in due time. Add to that the actual fact that two Gryffindors had defended a Slytherin, no matter who the Slytherin was, and Snape was confused beyond measure about what this could mean and what the repercussions would be. He would need to work this problem out slowly. He knew it ran deeper than what the eye could see and that alone spoke a lot.

His next surprise in that eventful day had been when the girl had actually showed up for her first Potions Apprenticeship class. Nott had reported that he could not find her and Severus had assumed that the troublesome child would stay hidden until the next day of class. But once again, she had proven that he could not predict her and had showed up right on time. They had not talked about the morning's events while he taught her about ingredients, learning their particularities and predicting how multiple ingredients would react to each other. It was only the basics of Potions, but still more advanced than what any Hogwarts' first to fifth year student would learn. He had noticed how the girl seemed to be starving for knowledge and he had to admit, once again, that she was gifted for Potions. It kept reminding him how little she was like her father.

At the end of the lesson, Severus had decided that it was about time they talked about the Malfoy incident. "I know what happened this morning, Avaya" he had started once her notes, ink and quill were put away. He never used pet names as he believed it was disrespectful to modify one's real name, but he had known that using her last name would make the girl be on her guard, and he actually needed the opposite effect for this conversation to go anywhere.

"He deserved it" she had coldly replied, looking the professor straight in the eyes daring him to disagree.

"Well, unofficially, I agree with you." He remembered a time when he himself had used the word and lost the only real friend he had ever had. He dearly hoped that the clash between Black and Malfoy would not result in the girl giving up on his cousin. "I still have to ask though if his condition is permanent. Madam Pomfrey didn't find anything wrong."

The girl snorted before answering. "Don't worry, Sir, it is only temporary. He will recover his voice when he'll start giving more time to his thought process before spouting some nonsense."

"I thought you had talked with someone like I suggested last time this problem came up" he had continued.

"I did, Sir. I talked with Teddy, but…" she had looked down and had whispered the rest of her answer, "I just didn't tell him everything."

Snape frowned at this. "Why not?" he had simply asked.

"Uh... I don't know, Sir" she had answered looking back at him unsure. "I guess I didn't want him to find out about the darker side of me."

Severus had understood what she had not explicitly said: she was afraid that Nott would be disgusted or scared and that he would stop caring about her; she was afraid of losing the first person she saw as a real friend. The child would have been unable to formulate it like that though. After all, she probably had no clue of what having a friend or being a friend entailed.

"Well, if you refuse to talk to him about your problems, and since you don't seem to trust me with them, we need to find another solution. You can't keep getting overly angry; the Headmaster would find out and then we would definitely have some explaining to do."

At this, the girl had looked surprise. "You mean you haven't already told him?"

Snape had looked at her as if it had been the first time he had really seen her. So she had not trusted him to a certain extent because she had known, or guessed, that he was reporting to Albus. There was still hope for him, he thought.

"No, Miss Black," he had replied, "I did not tell Albus about your anger management problem. Just like I did not tell him about what happened in Diagon Alley." He had known though that he would need to explain more if he wanted her to trust him. And surprisingly enough, he really wished the small child would open up to him. "It is true that Albus has asked me to keep an eye on you, but I do not spill your secrets or personal problems to him. We have talked about your familial situation as I already told you, but this was a different matter as it was more of a legal issue. I will not give him any information that would put you in a difficult situation, Avaya. I am your ally and I wish you would trust me. It would make everything a lot easier" he had finished.

The girl had looked at him straight in the eye and been thoughtful for a moment before finally nodding. "You're saying the truth" she had commented, "so I will give you a chance. I guess I'll have to talk with Teddy too now."

Severus had wondered how she could have been so certain that he was not lying, but had decided to leave this issue for another time. He was honestly relieved that she would try to open up, it was a great improvement. "He will probably have a few questions, but I do not think he will ask them until you tell him he can. I have seen how protective he has become of you." To that, he had had a small sad smile. "It is good that you can count on him. He is a real good friend to you. So is Potter too" he had finished reluctantly. Avaya had not replied anything, so he had continued. "Now, I believe I could teach you some Occlumency techniques to help you deal with your anger." He had a feeling that she was probably a natural in this field since she could be so hard to read sometimes. He had given her a book on the subject with instruction to read the first three chapters before the next weekend. Before he had sent her off, he had lectured her on some anger management techniques, such as deep breathing and assertive communication. The girl had listened attentively and promised she would try her best to use those techniques and Occlumency to keep a hold of her magic when angry.

It was now Sunday morning and Severus could not keep his mind off the girl. Soon he would have to head to breakfast and his thoughts were still in turmoil, which he could not allow, lest the old coot know that something was bothering him. He got off the bed and went for a shower. It had been almost a week since the beginning of the school year. A week since Avaya Black had been sorted in Slytherin. A week and the Potions Master still didn't know what to think about the child. It didn't seem like she was making friends easily. Outside of Theodore Nott, only Potter struck him as a potential friend, and only because he had identified himself as such. Sure the small girl had no problems working with others, but she was still a loner from what he could see. If it wouldn't have been for Nott, she would probably still be by herself most of the time. Some of his snakes had been friendly to her, but since she had not known how to deal with them, they now seemed to think she was a naturally cold and distant person. Severus believed it was due to her lack of such interactions while growing up. He was still impressed that Nott had been able to get on her good side so quickly. What didn't help, Severus had noticed, was how she still seemed uncomfortable when talking to what she considered strangers. Well, needless to say that the Head of House knew she was not integrating very well. He really would have to keep an eye on her. He would give her another week to start making more friends before bringing up the issue to her. Snape firmly believed that she would, with a bit of help, give others their chance to know her, just like she had seemed to do with Nott and the Potter brat.

The Potions Professor had just finished getting dressed and putting order in his thoughts when someone knocked urgently on his door.

* * *

Avaya woke up early as usual. When she checked the time, it was barely five. She was so accustomed to her sleeping pattern by now that she didn't mind and didn't give it second thoughts. Anyways, as the Muggles said: early birds get the worms.

Usually, she would sit in the common room and read one of her books or finish up some homework. Unfortunately, her homework was all done and she didn't feel like reading any new material. _Actually_, she thought,_ it has been a while since I played piano and I really feel like doing that right now._ Silently, she got out of her room to go get a shower. In Slytherin, the students were doubled in a room and since the girls in her year were an odd number and Avaya had joined a year later, she had her own room, which she enjoyed a lot. After the shower, she got dressed in some of her muggle clothes, hiding her wand in her left sleeve, and went down to the common room. She liked the Slytherin common room a lot more than the Gryffindors'. When she had visited, she had found it warm and welcoming with its red color and big fluffy armchairs, but nothing could replace the serenity she found in her House's common room. The dark green and black hues soothed her down and there was just something about the air of seriousness that was created by the furniture that appealed to her. She took out her cherry wand, moved some tables and sofas around to make place in front of her favourite stained glass window and finally decided to try transfiguring one of the table into the desired instrument. Unfortunately, she didn't know the incantation for what she wanted to do and she was not proficient in Latin, now that she thought about it she would have to add that subject to her personal studies, so she did as usual and visualized what she wanted to accomplish. The table slowly transformed into a grand piano facing the green rays of light. She looked around to make sure the act of magic had not woken up any unwanted guest and sat on the bench. She made sure the piano had been transfigured properly by checking its tune and when she was satisfied with the instrument, she started playing the _Moonlight Sonata_ of Beethoven. It was a fairly good reflection of how she felt lately.

Draco woke up without being sure of why. It was definitely earlier than he was used to and he knew that something had woke him up, even though he couldn't put his finger on it at the moment. He attentively listened trying to find what had disturbed his sleep. Since they were and odd number of Slytherin boys in his year, he had a single room, so that eliminated the possibility of a snoring roommate. Paying attention, he heard some noise coming from the common room. He slipped a robe over his pyjamas and headed towards the sound.

Avaya was playing without paying attention; she was lost in her thoughts as she was often in those circumstances. It had been three weeks since she had left her old life behind. Three weeks since her mother had officially deserted her. Three weeks ago she had discovered about magic. It had also been almost one week since she had joined Hogwarts as a second year. One week since she had started what they would call a normal life, if normality really existed in this world. She liked the school even though she found the learning curve way to slow. It was a good thing she had decided to take things in her hands and learn more on her own time like she used to, it kept her occupied. As for the students, she wasn't sure what to think. Of course, she was fond of Teddy. He had promised to keep her secrets and so far he had not betrayed her. Harry and Ron were also okay. Outside of what she had told them in the train though, they didn't know anything more about her personal history. As for Hermione, it was true that she was a bit like her in the sense that she was a bookworm, but Avaya didn't like how the other girl always spat her knowledge in the face of others. She believed the Muggle-born had no restraint and that was getting on her nerves more than anything else. And there was her cousin, who was so promising, yet such a disappointment. As for the rest of her House, hell the rest of the school, she wasn't sure what to think. It's not that she didn't like them or anything, but she simply didn't know how she was supposed to act around them. Teddy had been a natural thing, just like one would instinctively walk towards a light source when in the dark, but for the others, all the others, she wasn't sure what they expected of her. And so she simply stayed quiet and polite. She had heard some say she was cold, colder than a Malfoy. She didn't really mind what they thought about her but sometimes, she did feel lonely even with Teddy around. Yes, nothing had really changed from her previous life style. Even surrounded by people, she was still alone… And so she kept playing, pouring her loneliness in the musical piece and totally oblivious to what was going on around her.

Draco was the first to arrive in the common room and was also the only one to hear the beginning of the tune. Slowly, more Slytherins poured in the common room, all quiet, all trying to be unheard. Of course Nott had been there not long after him. But whatever thoughts were about to surface, they evaded him and the melody stole all of his attention. As a girl had murmured behind him, he didn't remember seeing a piano in the common room, much less a grand piano. His suspicions were confirmed when her friend answered in the same low whisper that indeed there had not been a piano there before. And Draco knew then that her cousin had done some of her magic again. It was probably what had woken him up in the first place, he thought. He looked around to find that most of the House was awake now and intently listening to the music. Some had their eyes closed and he even saw a couple of them shedding silent tears. That is when it hit him. Without warning and wondering what was happening to him, he was suddenly overwhelmed by a wave of emotion. He wasn't sure where it all came from, but he felt as if he was alone in the world; as if everybody around him had ceased to exist. He felt painfully lonely, lonelier than he had ever felt in his short life. But he also knew that this feeling wasn't his. It was his cousin's, even though it pained him to acknowledge it. Draco had no clue about how she was doing it. How was someone able to convey their feelings through music? Was this simply some sort of magic or one of her magical gifts? As the melody continued to fill the air around him, the young Malfoy felt sadder. The emotion shifted and while he was aware of being surrounded by people, he felt lonelier if it was possible. Solitude when other respectable human beings were around, what could be worse? Draco didn't know why his cousin felt this way, but he promised himself that he would do anything to try to make it better, with or without parental consent. Slowly, quiet tears started streaming down his face. His cousin deserved to be happy, he decided. And before he realized it, the song was over and the emotions that were not his left. He heard the silent sobs of the Slytherins around him. He turned to look at Nott and what he saw on his face probably mirrored what could be seen on his. But then, panic appeared on his features. Draco didn't understand why until he realized that it was not only the other boy and him: the full House had been listening and were still standing. He turned, shock and fear taking place on his pale face. His cousin would soon enough realized that she had had an audience... and she wouldn't like it one bit.

Avaya felt slightly better as she was done playing, even though nothing would change how lonely she felt. She sighed quietly and started moving the bench away from the instrument when she suddenly felt like something was wrong. She could sense it like a creepy bug climbing up her spine, it gave her shivers. She was watched. She abruptly turned around, knocking over the bench at the same time and getting her wand out in one swift movement, only to find herself being stared at by her whole house. Keeping her mask in place, but her inside burning with shame at having been discovered in such a compromising situation and silently berating herself for not noticing them before, she timidly looked around, lowering her wand to her side. She faintly blushed as she spoke.

"Sorry if I woke you up. It won't happen again."

Her voice was cold, Draco thought. And before any of them could respond or actually get over the state of shock they were in, his cousin, with barely a wave of her wand, changed the piano back in a table, made the room regain its previous order and quickly slipped out of the common room. Draco had been startled by that incredible display of magic. Avaya would never cease to surprise him. A few seconds passed in complete silence before every student started talking all at the same time. Draco could only hear a buzz; he was still trying to process everything that had happened. He was about to yell at everyone to shut up when a hand fell on his shoulder. He turned around, reflex telling him to snap at the unwanted visitor, but was cut short when he saw Nott's face. The boy seemed to have been through the same thoughts than him.

"I can't see it on your face, Malfoy. You're also wondering how it is that she feels that way. Go warn Snape and I'll look for her, okay?"

Draco thought about it and he only saw a minor problem that he had forgotten in all this commotion. Looking displeased and with a sneer, he pointed his throat to the other boy.

"Right, I had forgotten. True that Snape is not patient enough to wait for your written explanation. I'll go find him, you go look for Aya. And for Merlin's sake Malfoy, try not to provoke her this time" Teddy added exasperated.

Draco grabbed the other boy's arm to stop him and mouthed only one word. _Where?_

Nott was thoughtful for a moment. "You should try the great hall first. If she's not there, try the library. And if she's not there either, Merlin helps us, she could be anywhere, so just meet me up in Snape's quarters."

Nott looked at Malfoy's back as he quickly left the common room and made a final assessment of the situation before he also exited and quickly made his way to Snape's quarters. It was way too early for him to be anywhere else, and for a moment he was even scared that he would actually wake up the Potions Master. Every Slytherin knew that Snape tended to be grumpy in the mornings. _But this is for a good reason_, he thought. Snape had really seemed concern about Avaya the previous day, so Teddy assumed that his life wasn't really on the line if he woke up his Head of House. He arrived at the Professor's door quicker than he would have thought and desperately knocked on the door.

Severus opened the door with a frown on his face, ready to snap at whoever had the indecency of disturbing him so early, but stopped when he saw Nott with a look on his face similar to what he had witnessed just the day before. His mind started spinning like crazy. What had happened again? He pulled his student inside and urged him to speak.

Nott immediately started explaining to Snape how he had been woken up by music and found Avaya playing piano in the common room, and no he didn't really know how it got there, but it seemed like she had just transfigured a table into it. He continued with how the music had felt, and how he had realized that the emotions were not his or the music's but Aya's and somehow she was pouring her loneliness in the melody and the song all made them feel her own emotions. He wasn't sure if the rest of the House had caught up on that though or if they just thought it was the music. He finished with how Avaya had realized that the whole House had listened to her playing and had fled the common room with an apology. He had sent Draco after her and here he was. He also added his own conclusion about how the House had reacted.

Severus was quite relieved. At least the girl was not in trouble, but he was still impressed with what he had heard and decided to check on the possible damages, bringing Nott along with him. When Snape entered the Slytherin common room, he was surprised to find everyone there chatting happily. Whatever it was that they had experienced had not traumatized them it would seem. Quite the opposite actually, it had seemed to open them up to each other. _How weird_, thought the man. He cleared his throat loudly and looking at all his students, he started the interrogation.

"What his going on here?" he asked the group staring intently at whoever was brave enough to look at him in the eyes. And suddenly the whole room fell silent. Everyone seemed to wonder what they should say and who should talk first. Surprisingly enough, it was Vincent Crabbe who made the first comment.

"It was..." he started thinking hard and looking for the perfect word, "magical" he finished his eyes vague.

"Well, thank you greatly Mr Crabbe, for this profound and very interesting glimpse into your vocabulary" Snape replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Now, can anyone complement Mr Crabbe's very descriptive assessment?"

It was a fourth year girl who talked next. "It's Miss Black, Sir" she started politely. "She was playing piano and I know I've never heard anything so beautiful and so sad..." she trailed off.

A seventh year boy took over from her. "Don't get us wrong, Professor, it was really strange to be able to feel how she felt," and at the shocked expression on Teddy's face, the boy added, "and of course we know that's what happened. But we're not angry or mad at Black, Sir. Actually, it was quite enlightening as experience and to hear her play like she did was also very gratifying."

The next came from Milicent Bulstrode. "Why is she so lonely, Sir? We all tried to be friendly to her in the last week, but it's barely if she engaged in any conversation with any of us" she noted.

And Blaise Zabini added "Yeah, it's really sad for her, but she could at least give us a chance."

Snape looked at the other second years who seemed to agree with their year mate. He silently sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He looked at Nott who, while still wearing some semblance of Slytherin mask, had a horrified expression in his eyes, and decided on what to say next.

"While it is not my place to say why Miss Black is the way she is, just like it wouldn't be my place to tell her about any or your personal life, just so there is no more misunderstanding, I will say this. Listen well because I will not repeat myself." All the room took a sharp breathe at the critical remark and stopped breathing so they wouldn't miss a word. "Miss Black has been home-schooled until now and she has had scarcely any contacts with others and particularly with children her own age. My advice is to take it slow with her. Try not to pry and let her come to you at her own rhythm."

"But Sir, she's made friend with Nott in the blink of an eye" noted Pansy Parkinson.

"Well, I'm not sure how this happened, but if you think about it, he is the exception. She doesn't seem so close with her own cousin and even her other friends admitted that she was distant and kept to herself. Now, whether you chose to follow my advice or not is your decision, Miss Parkinson. But don't complain if she snaps at you because you didn't hear me" Snape finished coldly making his way out, but before he could actually step out, a fifth year boy stopped him.

"Sir!" he called loudly. "Do you think we could get a piano in here so she could play when she wants? Maybe that would make her open up a bit" he suggested.

Severus had to admit that the idea wasn't bad at all, but he didn't look back at his student and simply answered on his way out "I'll think about it".

Teddy was left alone in a room full of curious Slytherins and while he knew most of them would bear Snape's recommendation, the second year would be something else. Blaise looked at him and squinted at him.

"Hey, don't look at me this way, Zabini. I don't know why she chose to befriend me, but I know that Snape's words couldn't be truer and whether you listen to him or not, that's your pick. And I know I'll never regret being her friend" he finished in a scorn. He turned away hoping they would think about all they had heard. Before he left for the Great Hall hoping to find Malfoy and Avaya there, he went to his dorm to retrieve a small package he had received the previous day. On his way, he decided it was for the best to not tell Aya about the Potions Master's visit to their common room. It would just mortify her and he didn't want her to feel worse than she was probably already feeling. _But the package may make her feel better_, he thought.

* * *

Draco had left the common room in haste. He couldn't put up with all the other students right now, even though they sounded more excited than anything else. _Can't they just carry on with their pitiful life and go back to bed_, he thought bitterly. He was already out of the dungeons when he realized he was still wearing his pyjamas under his robe. _Oh well, who cares anyway? _He jogged to the Great Hall praying to all the Gods to find his cousin there. He stopped at the doors to catch his breath and quietly crept his way in, holding the door behind him so it wouldn't make a big noise when closing back. He silently let out a sigh of relief. There was only one person in the Great Hall and that person was exactly whom he wanted to see. He was going to step towards her when he suddenly stopped. He had absolutely no idea of what to tell her. There she was, her head resting on the table and her shoulders slumped in a defeated manner, and he, the great Draco Malfoy, had no idea what to say. He had a feeling that she would not take kindly into any type of pity and so he scratch anything that would start with something akin to "I'm sorry". Still thinking, he slowly walked towards his House's table and cautiously sat next to her. She didn't even acknowledge him. He carefully put his hand on her shoulder and without realizing that he could actually do it, spoke.

"I had no idea you could play so beautifully, cousin."

She slightly turned her head to look at him before taking back her original position. "It's about time you started thinking before speaking" she replied coldly.

Draco wasn't sure what she was referring to for a second before he realized that he actually had spoken the words. It was true that he had thought before talking to her. Was that what he had to do to break whatever spell she had put on him? It was true that her last word to him were "Do more thinking, less talking." But that being aside, he wasn't sure how to keep up the conversation with her.

"What was it that you played?" he asked hoping to get her to open up a bit.

Avaya sighed loudly. She would definitely not get rid of her cousin by ignoring him it seemed. "It was the Moonlight Sonata of Beethoven, Draco" she informed him. "And if you've never heard of it that probably means that he was a muggle."

Draco thought about that for a second before replying. "Well muggle or not, it was magnificent. And I'm sure the whole House would agree." He heard the girl groaned at that comment and quickly went on with what he wanted to say before she would protest. "Honestly Avaya, when I left the common room, everyone was just excited. You're really talented. Your music was not only beautiful but it carried so much emotion in it too..." he trailed off remembering how he had felt. But then he saw the look of horror on his cousin's face and did the only thing he could think of at the moment: he hugged her as if there were no tomorrow. She had not reacted to his hug and was simply stiff in his embrace. So he tried to comfort her, whispering the next words. "Why didn't you tell anyone you were lonely, Aya" he had heard the pet name from Potter. "Why didn't you tell Nott at least? He's so worried about you. And so am I, cousin. That's what friends and family are there for: to look out for you and care about you. I realize I've been a bit of a prat this last week, but I can assure you that I'll be there for you if you need me. No matter how many quarrels we can get into, you're the only cousin I have and I'm there for you. I'm there for you, Aya" he finished in a murmur. Before he could pull away, his cousin put her arms around him and resting her head on his shoulder started softly crying.

Avaya wasn't sure what had gotten into her but there she was sobbing on her stranger of a cousin. Well, it's not like anyone was there to gape and make fun of her; and if Malfoy changed his mind and became a prat again she could always try to obliviate him. She had read about the spell in one of her book. But at his words she had realized how lonely she had been her whole life when her mother, at least, should have cared about her. It had also made her realized that it had been worse since coming to Hogwarts: she had been surrounded by so many people and yet, she was still so lonely. And here was the one person she had made fun of since the beginning, the one other family member she had, and he was telling her that he cared and was worried about her. She could not have held the tears in even if her life had depended on it. She was so sad yet so happy in the same time that it was confusing. Her cousin was rubbing her back and whispering to her that it was all right, and that more than anything else calmed her.

Slowly her sobbing calmed down and Draco wondered what had triggered such a blow-up. He didn't ask however. He knew now that with his cousin, you had to let her come to you with info and not try to get it out of her. But at the same time he realized that this was a privilege, if one could use such a word in these circumstances. He knew that Avaya wasn't letting her mask down easily and the fact that she had so openly broken down must have meant that she trusted him in some way or something like that. He looked at her as she straightened up and let him go, her head down. "Are you alright?" he asked concern evident in his voice.

Aya looked at him, her eyes red and puffy, and slowly smiled at him. "Thank you, Draco" she said wholeheartedly.

"Um, what for exactly?" he asked unsure, wondering if she had gone a bit mad in the last minutes.

She shrugged and laughed, a beautiful sound that Draco wished to hear way more often, and then she hugged him. Draco was too shocked to return the hug or wonder what had happened. Before he could ask, the doors to the Great Hall opened and Nott came in. Both turned towards him.

Teddy noted the smile on Avaya's face, a smile that travelled to her eyes and he was thankful to Malfoy for once. Looking at the other boy, he noticed the confused look on his face and wondered what had happened, not that he would ask anyways. He sat down in front of the girl he considered his little sister and taking the package out of his pocket, he slid it on the table so it would be in front of her.

Avaya looked confusingly at the little green box that was wrapped in a silver ribbon and bow and then at him. "What is it Teddy?" she simply asked.

"Happy birthday" he replied. "I wanted to give it to you yesterday when it came in, but after that... incident, I couldn't find you. Sorry if it's a bit late" he finished apologetically.

Avaya looked at him in wonder. "You're giving me a birthday present? Why?" she murmured.

Both Nott and Malfoy were taken aback by this question. Why would someone request to know why they were receiving a birthday gift? And Teddy realized then: if your mother didn't care for you, she probably wouldn't give you gifts. So he decided for the most direct approach.

"Because that's what friends and _real_ family do, Aya. They offer you gift at your birthday and at Christmas and maybe at some other times too. And I saw your birth date when you showed those papers to Malfoy." To his surprise, she threw herself at him over the table and hugged him.

"You're really my friend?" she murmured in his neck, still holding tight to him.

"Of course I am" he replied. "Actually I regard you more as the little sister I always wanted to have" he whispered back truthfully and hugged her back.

When she let him go to sit back properly, he could see fresh tears in her eyes. But the smile on her face and in her eyes reassured him that those were tears of happiness and he simply smiled back at her. He noticed Malfoy who was also smiling and nodding at him. "Open it" he said pointing at the box. She carefully undid the ribbon and lifted the cover to find a bracelet. She took it out and looked at it with glee.

"It's a charm bracelet" explained Malfoy once he had seen what it was. Malfoy was impressed; charm bracelets were expensive and each charms had to be bought separately. There weren't common or that popular because of their cost but also because they didn't really protect you from anything; they just warned you. They were restrictive in that way.

"Exactly" intervened Teddy. "A charm bracelet is a bracelet on which you can attach different charms, Aya" he started explaining. "I ordered it through owl from a shop in Diagon Alley. Let me tell you what the different charms do. The little shield with a wand will warn you of any minor jinx or spell around you. The shield with a hand will warn you if someone near you wishes to hurt you. It is based on the intent of the person. So if someone with a bad intention get close to you, the charm will lit."

Draco wondered why one would need a charm against physical harm. In the wizarding world, any harm would come through the wand, not through someone's fists. That made him aware that his cousin's situation might be more precarious than he thought. It had to be one of those secrets that Nott knew about. For the first time, he was glad that someone knew what was going on with her even if it wasn't him, because that meant that at least one person could protect her properly. He still decided to pass the information to his mother and keep his own eyes open. He focused back to what Nott was saying. He had missed the explanation on one of the common charm that would make the bracelet invisible once she wore it.

"And the little cauldron will turn green if your drink or food has been spiked with a harmless potion such as a prank potion. But if it turns red it means that it's been spiked with a harmful potion and please don't eat or drink anything when it's red, okay?" Avaya simply nodded too shocked by the thoughtfulness of the gift to say anything and fastened the bracelet to her right wrist.

"Thanks Teddy" she said as breakfast started appearing on the table at the same time that the Headmaster and McGonagall came in. They looked at the three Slytherins but didn't say anything. They all started eating and slowly the Great Hall filled with more students. The Slytherins that came in would give them an appreciative smile or nod before sitting down. The second years sat next to Draco and stayed polite to the other two. They were almost done when an eagle owl came in and landed in front of Malfoy with a rather thick envelope and a small box.

Draco opened the envelope only to find a letter and another envelope. He unfolded the letter.

_Dearest son of mine,_

_Thank you for your letter and be reassured that everyone here at the Manor is well. I have talked with your father about Miss Black and here are our conclusions._

_From what you told us, the papers you sent and what we both know, it is safe to assume that indeed Sirius is not aware that he has a daughter. As for her mother, she came to Hogwarts when Lucius and I were in our seventh and sixth year respectively. She was a Ravenclaw. We know this because, a bit like Sirius, she was an outcast in her own family who were purebloods and Slytherins. We found it rather funny that a Gryffindor and a Ravenclaw who cut off the ties with their Slytherin families ended up having a child who went in our noble House. Fate is a rather strange thing sometimes..._

_The fact that she is a second year is somewhat troubling. It would mean that she was home-schooled but couldn't be anymore. Try to find out more about this, but subtly. Your father and I agreed to treat her like family and therefore you must do so to. You know what this means. And considering she seems to be quite powerful, it would not bode well to make her angry at you. So forget your previous confrontations and act like a gentleman._

_As for her different friendships, just let them be. We have no influence on her and so it would be unwise to act on them, not that we would suggest it anyway and Mr Nott is someone we can trust. But please make sure that she fits well in Slytherin and do your best to form a friendship with her as well._

_Finally, I joined a letter that I wrote for her. Give it to her when you have a chance. The box is a birthday present as it was her birthday lately. Consider it to be from all of us and explain to her what it is. You will recognize it when you see it._

_Take care of you, my son, and take care of our new addition to the family.  
With love,  
Your Mother_

Draco took the second letter and put it in front of his cousin. "It's for you from my mother" he explained. Aya looked at him with curiosity and opened the envelope.

_My dear Avaya,_

_It was a shock when Draco sent his letter with documents supporting your belonging to my family, but I must say it is quite a pleasant surprise. But where are my manners? I am Narcissa Malfoy née Black, Draco's mother, and as you might already know it, Sirius' cousin. Once in Hogwarts, my cousin and I did not get along very well. I am afraid I did not get to know your mother very well either. Both of them being from Slytherin families but cutting their ties off with their parents and disassociating from anything Slytherin made it hard on any possible friendship._

_But I did not write to you to talk about your parents. I wrote to offer you a hand if you ever come to need one. I am not aware of your personal and familial situation and if you do not wish to share it with me, I will not ask. But if you ever need a second home, if you ever need help whatsoever, we would be honoured, and here I speak on behalf of my husband too, to be of any help to you. No matter how Draco acts, I know he would be more than please to have someone his age and part of the family around. I believe he is a bit lonely sometimes, even though he would never admit such a thing. And my husband and I already consider you like a daughter of our own. Please let me know if I can do anything for you at anytime. That is what family is for after all._

_I attached to this letter a late birthday present. Draco will explain to you what it is. It was linked to Malfoy Manor. Do not worry; you will understand what I mean soon enough._

_I hope to meet you soon  
Please take care of you_

_With all my affection  
Narcissa Malfoy_

As she folded back the letter, Draco put the small box in front of her. "Happy late birthday" he said with a smile. But before she could unwrap the box or say anything, Parkinson who had heard him interjected.

"It was your birthday! When?"

Avaya was a bit ill at ease with the sudden attention from the entire second year Slytherins but still answered politely. "Before Hogwarts, Pansy, August 30th to be exact."

"Why didn't you tell anyone?" she asked almost offended.

"Well, because it was _before _Hogwarts and because I didn't know anyone cared" she replied simply.

The other girl didn't respond to that but looked half ashamed. She shared a look with Draco and then turned to the others and started whispering with them. Aya didn't really care about their conversation and returned to the gift. In the box was a ring; a silver ring with the Black family crest on it.

"It's an emergency portkey" Draco started explaining. "I have one with the Malfoy crest. When you'll put it on your finger, it will adjust and then become invisible. Most purebloods have those rings. They are usually linked to bring you back home when you press a finger against the crest and say _Home_."

Avaya stared at her cousin and put the ring on her middle finger. "She said it was linked to Malfoy Manor" she said to Draco. "I will need to write to your mom to thank her. Do you know if this will work in areas with anti-portkey wards?" she then asked.

"Yes it does" answered Draco. "Those are emergency portkeys. They are made to work anywhere and will bring you only to the place that they have been linked to and only if you do as I said. I'm sure my mother wouldn't mind to link it to your place if you ask her. She probably didn't do it because she doesn't know where you live" suggested the blond boy.

"No" interrupted Avaya. "Malfoy Manor is good with me for now. I will not ask her to change it" she finished.

"Hey do you guys wanna go outside?" asked Teddy. "It's the perfect weather for walking on the grounds" he said looking at the cloudless and sunny ceiling.

"Sure" both Avaya and Draco agreed at the same time.

The three of them spent the rest of the day outside, showing their favourite spots to the others, talking and generally having fun. Draco had had his pyjamas transfigured in normal clothing, courtesy of his powerful cousin. None of the two boys had ever seen Aya so carefree and it was refreshing for both of them to see her open up and lose a bit of her mask. Instead of going back in for lunch, Draco went to get food from the kitchens, which he had promised to show to Avaya one day, and they had a picnic outside. They only went back for supper when Draco said he needed to do some homework. When they left the Great Hall for their common room, they were stopped by their Head of House who brought them to his office.

Snape shut the door when the three were in and addressed the small girl. "Is everything all right, Miss Black?"

Avaya looked at the Potions Master and smiled; but not a Slytherin half-smile, what showed on her face was a real true smile. "Of course, Sir" she answered in a chirpy tone. Since the professor kept looking at her and at the two boys suspiciously, she explained more. "I guess you heard about this morning, Sir. And while I am sorry to have woken up the whole House, I didn't know they could actually feel my emotions through the music. I will apologize to them, no worries. I guess I will just have to find a place so I can play without disturbing others with the turmoil of my thoughts, it's all."

Snape nodded slightly. "Maybe not" he replied enigmatically. "And about yesterday?"

Avaya cringed but it was Draco who talked first. "I am not mad at my cousin for what happened, Sir. And she was right; I do need to think more before talking."

Avaya sighed and didn't even look at Snape. "That's not exactly what he was talking about, Draco" she said. She looked at the blonde boy and at her first friend and sighed some more. "Teddy, I should have warned you when I told you my history. Anger is quite new to me, even with my upbringing. I am not familiar to ways of dealing with it. So I tend to uh... lose control of my magic and my words when I am angry. But I am learning so that situation like yesterday or like in Diagon Alley do not repeat themselves" she finished hastily.

Teddy was the first to find something to respond. "I'm not mad that you didn't tell me. Actually, I understand." He smiled gently at her. "You know now that you can trust me with anything and if need be, I'll be the voice telling you to calm down" he finished winking at her.

Avaya was happy and she knew now more than ever that she had chosen him well that day. She turned towards her cousin, almost expecting him to yell at her, but what she saw confirmed what he had said earlier that day. He was looking at her in such a gentle way that she would have thought someone was impersonating him, had she not passed the day in his company.

"I'm not mad at you either, cousin. And while I understand I am in no rights to demand of you to tell me all your secrets, I hope that with time, you might trust me enough with them. In the meantime, I won't stop to care about you simply because you have problems. Just know that you can also count on me and that I am here if you ever need me."

Avaya looked at Draco with pride and nodded. She looked at Snape with a smug expression and the Potions Master couldn't keep himself from raising an eyebrow.

"I'll escort you back trouble-makers to the common room." And the three of them followed him out silently of the office and further in the dungeons. When they arrived to the concealed door, the man gave the password and they all went it. But Aya could feel that something was strange and when the professor moved to the side, she realized why she had felt this way. The whole House was standing in front of them. Avaya wasn't sure what exactly was going on, but she figured she needed to apologize and was about to do just that when Zabini spoke.

"You don't need to apologize for this morning" he started and she simply looked at him confused. "Actually, we all enjoyed your performance. And so we all got together with Professor Snape to get you a late birthday present" he continued with a mysterious smile. And as he said "Happy late birthday" everyone in front of them moved to make a path and at the other end of the path, Aya saw a grand piano with a big green bow on it. Her eyes widened, not really understanding what was going on. She looked up at Snape but he simply nodded back and pushed her gently towards the piano. Draco and Teddy were also gobsmacked. Aya walked slowly, well everything seemed to happen in slow motion to her, and gently touched the keys.

The next person to speak was Milicent. "We would be honoured if you would play here in the common room anytime you feel like it and share with us more beautiful melodies."

Aya looked at her with wonder. "But what if... I am not sure how to stop the music from being intertwined with my emotions" she noted sadly.

Crabbe surprisingly spoke what everyone was thinking. "It's all right. We accept that. This morning was not only beautiful because of the music, but because your emotions made it so special. We understand that you might not want to bare your heart open in front of us all and we swear that if what happened this morning happens again, we will not pry to know why you feel a certain way and we will keep it to ourselves." Everyone nodded at his words.

"And as Professor Snape said when we first got here" continued Goyle, "we are the House of unity and internal strength."

Avaya wasn't sure what to say and maybe so she wouldn't have time to think about it and refuse the gift, Pansy jumped right in. "We have a cake too, if you'd do the honour of cutting it."

"Why?" asked Aya suspiciously. And that is when Draco and Teddy woke up from the shock. They both walked to be next to her and while Draco glared at anyone, daring them to say something unnecessary, Teddy explained in a low murmur. "It is tradition, Aya, that the person whose birthday it is, cut the cake. Nothing more."

Aya looked back at the other girl. "I'm sorry I didn't know. It will be my pleasure to cut the cake."

Avaya didn't notice the way people seemed thoughtful when she said she had not known about the birthday cake tradition. Even the mentally slowest members of Slytherin were trying to guess what it could mean and how it fitted in the bigger puzzle. But as the cake, which was a green snake long enough to make at least one portion to each, was served, everyone's thoughts left that unpleasant subject to concentrate on hoping that Black would play for them again. Aya had thanked everyone for the piano and had even given a true smile to Snape. She had felt the urge of hugging him, but that would have been hardly appropriate. As she finished her piece of cake, she noticed how every Slytherin had stayed in the common room, some doing homework, others just chatting around. She knew they hoped to hear another musical piece and with a last look and smile at Snape, she made the walk to the piano.

She carefully sat down as if afraid of breaking something. It was true that she played piano before, but never before had she possessed her own. She gently caressed the keys, trying some to make sure the instrument was properly tuned. She turned once again towards Snape, Draco and Teddy and gave them a mischievous smile before adopting a serious expression and facing the other students. "I will play the Rondo Alla Turca from Mozart" she said her voice grave. "It is a profound melody that I hope you will enjoy." She set her fingers on the piano, took a deep breath as if she was about to do something horrible and all of the sudden started playing. The Sonata No 11 of Mozart was entirely the opposite of what she had played the morning. It was a quick and joyous melody and soon she heard the Slytherins snickering. They had expected something sad again and her little speech was all about giving them a false impression to surprise them. As she kept playing she felt the smile creep back on her face and without realizing it, she was radiating with happiness.

Severus could not believe the talent Avaya Black was showing. He was happy that he had stayed. And when the small girl had thanked him and truly smiled, he had felt his heart jump. He had nodded back to her, but at that moment it had felt pathetic, not that he could do anything else. And now everyone could feel her happiness and it was such a good feeling that nobody resisted, himself included. He looked at Malfoy and Nott and decided she was lucky to have them and vice versa. He remembered the comment about the birthday cake, and it couldn't stop himself from frowning. He knew her personal history, but not all the details and it was hard to learn bits and pieces like that. The girl had not done anything to deserve the way she had been treated. She was simply born from two irresponsible and unstable parents and she had paid for it. He wondered for a second what would happen to her at the end of the year. If she told Draco, she could be placed with the Malfoys considering they were her family. He would have to keep an eye on the situation. But now, his Potions apprentice was done and everyone was clapping. He nodded again when she looked at him and headed back to his quarters. He had to prepare his classes for the next day and he knew his Slytherins would stay true to the promise they had made to the girl. Everything would be fine, he thought. Little did he know that the next weeks would only be the calm before the storm.


	9. The Opened Chamber

**Chapter 9  
The Opened Chamber**

The next two months, Avaya settled in a routine. Outside of attending classes and meals, she would finish her homework as soon as she could so she would be able to do some of her extracurricular studies. And before she realized it, she was also tutoring some students from her classes. She couldn't really explain how it had happen, but when she thought about it, she came up with a list of possible reasons: one, she always finished her homework in no time; two, because of her personal studies, she had a more extensive knowledge and a deeper comprehension of the different subjects; and three, she wasn't acting like Granger.

The last one was something she had noticed numerous times. The girl, without even realizing it, had a bossy attitude towards everyone. It intimidated people like Longbottom and got on the nerves of others like Teddy. Only Ron and Harry were going to the other girl first for homework help and Avaya had a feeling it was mostly out of loyalty to the other girl. She didn't mind and she admired the sentiment, in a way. But she also thought it didn't help Hermione and her attitude problem. She knew the girl wasn't doing it on purpose, but still, sooner or later, someone would have to tell her. Sooner would be for the best. And coming from her best-friends would be easier to take.

Avaya's study groups were usually composed of only Gryffindors or only Slytherins, except for Teddy who would tag along most of the time, but stayed mostly quiet, simply keeping an eye on her as the big brother he was to her. With those study groups, she had grown a bit closer to Longbottom whom she had invited once and had kept studying with them, and Crabbe and Goyle who had simply followed Draco as per their habit. Of course she also had her private Potions and Occlumency lessons with Snape each weekend. And then, when she had time, she would play piano or draw some of the landscape or parts of the castle.

Today was her first Halloween feast and she was bubbling with excitement. Her behaviour didn't show it as she kept her usual mask and composure, but Teddy, Draco and Severus had all noticed the sparkles in her eyes and the little smile forming when she was lost in her thoughts of the evening to come. Her cousin had explained to her what to expect at the feast and Avaya simply couldn't wait. Between two classes, however, questions popped in her curious mind. She turned towards her cousin and best friend and asked, a bit naively. "So are we wearing costumes for the feast?" And before anyone even had time to register the question, she asked another one with excitement. "And do we trick-or-treat after?" The Slytherins being all pure-blood or half-blood raised as pure-blood had no idea what she was talking about. Those who had heard the questions simply looked at her with a puzzled look.

Teddy was the first to recuperate from the state of shock those questions had put them in. "Aya, what are you talking about? Why would we wear costumes and what, in Merlin's name, is trick-or treat?"

The brunette looked at him and as understanding slowly crept on her face, she simply smiled at all of them. It was still quite rare when she would lose her mask in front of the Slytherins and her smile shocked most of them even further. "True, you pure-bloods wouldn't know about it" she said mischievously. "See, the Muggle kids have this tradition where on Halloween night, they put costume on and they go from house to house saying trick-or-treat. Either you give them candies or they'll play a trick on you, even though the tricking part is not necessarily applied anymore. The older kids and adults will have costumed party with themes or they'll watch horror movies or stuff like that" she finished. "It's too late to do anything like that this year, but I'll think of something for next year" she finished with a grin. "You'll see, it will be plenty of fun."

Pansy looked at the other girl with barely hidden disgust. "But it's a Muggle thing..." she trailed off.

"So?" Avaya replied dryly. "The origins of this holiday are older than the separation between Muggles and Wizards. And there was a time when both would dress up on Halloween night, even if the reason for doing so was quite different at that time. It's not because you guys forgot about it that it should stay that way" she continued with disdain. She gave a cold glare to Parkinson and finished. "But feel free to absent yourself from the fun next year if your wish. I would not force anyone, Pansy."

Before Pansy could replied, Zabini cut in. "What do you mean older than the separation between Muggles and Wizards?"

"Well Blaise, the whole Halloween thing comes from the Celts, centuries ago, while the Separation came from the Witch hunts not so long ago when you think about it..." started Avaya. And then she launched on a subject that she loved, whether it was Muggle or Wizarding: history. Everyone who could hear her, even Pansy and some of the Ravenclaws following them to class, was listening attentively as she told them what she knew of the origins of Halloween and what had led to the separation between magical and non-magical people as they made their way to their next class.

After what she considered the longest never-ending day ever, Avaya and the other second year Slytherins walked to Great Hall for the feast. The girl was so impressed with the finalized decor (live bats and jack-o-lantern big enough for three men to sit in them), that she momentarily paused at the entrance. It was an amused Draco and Theodore that half-directed, half-dragged her to their table. The meal was delicious and Avaya tasted of everything, but mostly of every sweet she set her eyes on. Teddy, and unbeknownst to them, Snape, had kept an eye on Avaya and both were relieved to see the small girl enjoy herself and act somewhat like a kid for once. Too soon though the feast came to an end and the students made their way out. Aya, Teddy and Draco were following the flow, thinking about taking a stroll around the castle when the group stopped and all the noise died suddenly. The three Slytherins glared their way to the front of the crowd and as Avaya saw what had made the others stopped, she felt her cousin and best friend freeze and stiffen.

Harry, Ron and Granger were standing in a puddle of water in front of a petrified Mrs Norris, the caretaker's cat, which was hanging by her tail from the torch bracket. And over her was a message written on the wall with what seemed to be blood.

_THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEEN OPENED.  
ENNEMIES OF THE HEIR, BEWARE._

As she turned questionably to Harry, the voice of Pansy Parkinson came from next to them. "Enemies of the heir, beware! You'll be next, Mudbloods!" she said of her annoying piercing voice, looking at Hermione and grinning like a mad woman. Avaya turned so suddenly towards her with the intention of giving her a piece of her mind that she didn't notice Argus Filch, the caretaker, closing in. And before she could start berating Parkinson, Filch's voice was heard.

"What's going on here? What's going on?"

Attracted no doubt by Pansy's shout, the caretaker came shouldering his way through the crowd. Then he saw Mrs Norris and fell back, clutching his face in horror. "My cat! My cat! What's happened to Mrs Norris?" he shrieked. And his popping eyes fell on Harry. "_You!_" he screeched, "_You!_ You've murdered my cat! You've killed her! I'll kill you! I'll…"

"_Argus!_" Dumbledore had arrived on the scene, followed by a number of other teachers. In seconds, he had swept past Harry, Ron and Granger and detached Mrs Norris from the torch bracket. "Come with me, Argus" he said to Filch. "You too, Mr Potter, Mr Weasley and Miss Granger."

Lockhart stepped forward eagerly. "My office is nearest, Headmaster – just upstairs – please feel free…"

"Thank you, Gilderoy" said Dumbledore.

Avaya, Draco and Teddy moved to the side as the rest of the crowd parted to let the teachers pass. Lockhart, looking excited and important, hurried after Dumbledore; so did Professors McGonagall and Snape, but not before the latter had a quick glance at his Slytherins. He knew something had happened that had made Black angry as her eyes shone with darker hues than usual, but as she looked at him, he also knew that she and her friends had nothing to do with the cat's fate, so he continued his way.

The Slytherin Trio slowly and quietly made their way back to their dorm where, considering the amount of people murmuring in the common room, they silently agreed to go up to Draco's room. Once they were in and the door was shut, Avaya stared coldly at the two boys.

"Tell me what you know" she ordered.

Both boys looked at each other and gulped. Draco had first hand experienced Avaya's anger and he wasn't keen about having a second try at it. Teddy had witnessed the event and being only a witness was fine enough with him. He never wanted the girl's anger to be directed at him.

"The Chamber of Secrets is an old legend, Aya" started Teddy nervously.

But before he could continue, Avaya interrupted him. "Spare me the details, Teddy. I know the legend. I did read _Hogwarts: A History_ after all. So I know that _supposedly_ Slytherin built a secret Chamber in the school and that he _supposedly_ sealed it when he left so only his heir could open it and unleash whatever monster he _supposedly_ kept in there. What I am more interested in right now, is what you are _not_ telling me and had you stiffened earlier" she finished with a forbidding tone.

Draco cleared his throat and gave her what she wanted. "This summer, my father told me of the legend of the Chamber. He told me that it was opened fifty years ago, but even if it was before his time, I'm sure he knows all about it. He didn't give me much details because he said it would look suspicious if I knew too much considering it was all kept quiet. But he said that last time it was opened, a Mud – Muggle-born died and that whoever did it was expelled." Draco had said all that in a low voice.

"Old habits die hard Draco" Avaya replied to his slip of the tongue. She then turned to Teddy and asked, "Anything to add, Teddy?"

"Well it's mostly the same thing. My father tends to talk more when he's had a drink. And a couple of years ago, at Christmas, he was quite inebriated and he started telling some of his stories. One of them was of when the Chamber was opened. My father was attending the school at the time. But he never said who had been expelled."

Avaya stared both boys with a calculating look. She was thinking, and thinking hard. "Ok, so you're father was in school when this happened and told you once when he was drunk" she recapitulated to Teddy who simply nodded. "Your father knows probably because he's on the Board of Governors and maybe due to his Death Eater affiliations." At the surprised look she saw on Draco's face, she interrupted her musing. "Please don't deny it Draco. Whether you father lies to you and your mother is none of my concern, but I have my sources and so far they have been proven right about everything I learnt from them." When she saw that her cousin wouldn't interject, she continued. "What I don't understand is why he told you Draco. He had nothing to gain in telling you about the Chamber, unless..."

"Unless what?" enquired her cousin.

"Hmmm... unless he knew it would happen again." She looked at the blond boy with regret. "I'm sorry cousin, but until I'm proven wrong, I will assume that your father is implicated somehow, which automatically makes him untrustworthy... and you..."

"You can trust me!" exclaimed Malfoy with panic. "I have nothing to do with it, Aya, I swear!" he yelled desperately.

"I don't doubt that Draco. But wouldn't it put you in a conflict of interest if I could prove your father was involved and you knew about it. I appreciate the effort you make in not simply blindly repeating what he says, but I don't think you are ready yet to stand up to Lucius, cousin. Neither is it your time yet to choose which path you will walk on. I'm sorry, Draco, but I cannot get you involved in this" she decided looking sadly at him. "But it is your choice whether you want to nag your father for more information" she finished winking at him.

Draco was not entirely satisfied, but he figured that his cousin was right. If she was indeed able to prove that his father, in some way, was involved and if his father were to learn that he knew, he'd be in big trouble. But he could still nag Lucius for more info and naively share it with the small girl. A grin took place on his face; his cousin was definitely a Slytherin. He liked her way of thinking. "Good enough. I believe for my own safety I should try to know more about this menace" he replied trying to hide his laughter.

"What about me?" Teddy asked nervously.

"I'm sorry, Teddy, but I can't involve you either. Your father is also a Death Eater and, while I doubt his participation in this plot, _your_ involvement in helping solve this issue, if known, would certainly create problems for you. But don't worry both of you; I know where to go for this. Well, good night gentlemen. See you tomorrow at breakfast." She waved at them as she left for her own room for some well deserved sleep.

"Where do you think she'll go for this?" Draco asked Teddy.

"Do you really have to ask, Malfoy?" But seeing it still didn't come to him, he supplied the answer as he also left, "The Gryffindors of course."

Draco mumbled something under his breath about Gryffindorks but deep down he understood the logic of his cousin. He just was somewhat jealous because now she would probably spend more time with them than with Teddy and himself. _Life is not fair_, he thought as he prepared to go to bed.

* * *

For a few days, the school could talk of little but the attack on Mrs Norris. Filch kept it fresh in everyone's minds by pacing the spot where she had been attacked, as though he thought the attacker might come back. Avaya had seen him scrubbing the message on the wall with 'Mrs Skower's All-Purpose Magical Mess Remover', but to no effect; the words still gleamed as brightly as ever on the stone. When Filch wasn't guarding the scene of the crime, he was skulking red-eyed through the corridors, lunging out at unsuspecting students and trying to put them in detention for things like 'breathing loudly' and 'looking happy'.

Since the attack, Avaya spent even more time in the library, looking for books that would tell her more about the Chamber or whatever monster Slytherin could have left there or even details about the Muggle-born who had died, but to no avail. She had seen Hermione frantically looking at books too and decided that it was time she had a chat with the Gryffindors. Maybe they would at least give her a new perspective. She knew Draco had written to his father, but she wasn't expecting much from that side.

That Wednesday, as she left the Herbology class and made her way to the Great Hall for supper, she looked around for the Trio. Once in the Great Hall, she checked the Gryffindor table, but didn't see them there either. _This is ridiculous_, she thought frustrated. She waved for Draco and Teddy to go sit and made her way towards the Weasley twins.

"Fred, George" she called looking at them.

"You got it wrong, I'm George and he's Fred."

Aya raised an eyebrow in a manner that reminded them of Snape and replied coolly, "Well I can understand if you are a bit mixed up. I mean you're so much alike that maybe you lost your sense of individuality and you got confused about who you really are, but let me assure you that you are indeed Fred, and he is indeed George."

The twins looked at each other with surprised."Okay, the first time you called us weeks ago and got it right, we thought you were just lucky –"

"– but that is just freaky" finished George.

"So how do you do it?" They both asked as one.

Avaya looked at the other Gryffindors around, and said slyly, "Well are you sure you want me to spill that secret in front of all your friends? Wouldn't that stop the fun?"

As understanding drew on their faces, the twins readily agreed, but the people around started booing. Avaya laughed. "Even if I were to tell you people, you would never be able to use the trick. Sorry guys" she said shrugging at them. Some laughed and some rolled their eyes, but they were already forgotten by the little Miss Black.

"So what did you want, Aya?" asked Fred.

"Unless you simply came to talk because you missed us –" started George with a mischievous smile.

"– in that case, you should share supper with us" finished Fred with the same smile forming on his lips.

Avaya sighed loudly and instead looked at one of their friend, a black boy with dreadlocks named Lee Jordan if she remembered well. And it's with her own mischievous tone that she replied. "Well, I wouldn't mind sitting with Lee here, he's handsome enough and everything, but what will my reputation be if I'm seen sitting with the crazy Weasley twins. Just think about it, life in Slytherin is already hard enough. And I think I'd just give my Housemates a heart attack or worse if I were to sit at the Gryffindors' table anyway." She seemed thoughtful for a moment and then as she pushed Lee to make place. "You know what? That might make my life just a tad more interesting. I was kind of getting bored in the dungeons anyways" she finished winking at the three of them.

The three boys laughed and they all started eating. Some at the table wondered what the Slytherin girl was doing there, but all Gryffindor who knew her didn't mind. And she got to meet some more who realized in the end that she wasn't bad at all for a snake. She could feel other people watching her though, some were definitely of her own House, others from Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw and there were definitely some teachers too. But she didn't mind. She thought that whole House rivalry thing was crap and that it was about time she made her opinion about it clear. And when she thought about it, she realized she would have to find people from the other two Houses to eat with once in a while. She was dragged back to the present time by Fred calling her name.

"Sorry, Fred, I was lost in my thoughts. You were saying?"

"I was wondering if there was a reason you came to see us before we sidetracked you?" he asked seriously.

"Well, don't go thinking that I don't enjoy your company, but there was indeed a reason." When the three boys stopped laughing at her way of replying, she continued. "Could you grant me access to the Tower when we're done eating? I need to talk with the Trio and they are obviously not around" she explained.

The twins smiled again mischievously. "Okay –" started Fred.

"– at one condition" continued George.

As she rolled her eyes, the twins finished in a chorus. "You tell us how you do it."

Avaya just laughed. "As you wish, Tweedledum and Tweedledee."

The twins just looked at her, not understanding the reference, while Lee started laughing. "I'll explain it to you guys later" he told them in between laughter. "Muggle thing" he finished, trying to catch his breath.

Fred looked curiously at Avaya then. "How is it that you'd know about a Muggle thing, Aya?"

"I have my secrets" she replied mysteriously. "Well, I'm ready when you are" she said after finishing her last bite of dessert.

It didn't take long for the four of them to be on their way to the Gryffindor Tower. And when they were far enough from all prying ears, the twins asked. "So what's it?"

Avaya smiled. When she thought about it, she smiled and laughed a lot when she was with the twins. Maybe it had to do with them being Gryffindors or maybe it was simply them. They reminded her of her first meeting with Teddy. They were just as easy to trust and joke around with. She was glad to have met them. "Magical signatures" she simply said before they could ask her again. At this the three boys suddenly stopped. "What?" she asked as she turned.

"What do you mean –" started George.

"– by magical signatures?" finished Fred.

Even Lee was nodding. He didn't know either what she had meant. She looked at them a bit surprised. "Well, I didn't expect you guys to be able to see them, but not to know what they are, or maybe you just have a different term for it." She went to sit on a close-by window sill and the three boys followed her. "How do I explain?" she wondered, a wrinkle forming on her forehead. "See, we are all magical but different, okay?" They nodded. So far they were following. "So I can feel the magic around me. Here in Hogwarts it's a bit more difficult as we're surrounded by magic, so I have to concentrate if I want to feel a particular one. So when I concentrate on you, I can see your magical signatures. And even though you are twins, they do differ. Hmmm..." she thought some more, "let me use an analogy." They all nodded, this was really interesting for them. "Let's say I have three candies. One has an orange wrapper. That's Lee. Now the two others have red wrappers. There is no way to distinguish them just by looking at them and if you open the wrappers, they are both red. But if you taste them, one is strawberry and one is cherry. Those are yours, Fred, George. I sense magical signatures and everyone has a different one; even if the difference between yours is minimal."

"Wow" said Lee. "I didn't know such a thing existed."

"Me neither" the twins chorused.

"And why do you think we can't sense them?" asked Lee honestly curious.

"I think it's either a gift I was born with or it has something to do with the amount of magical power I have. Either way, I never really talked about it with anyone, so I have no way of confirming" she finished shrugging. "Now, any other question or shall we make way to your common room?"

"After you, milady" said Fred, the serious look disappearing.

As they were entering the common room though, the twins stepped in front of Avaya with an impish look. "We forgot about something –" started George.

"– that we heard in one of our class" continued Fred.

"You guys are impossible" laughed Avaya as she saw Ginny getting closer.

"We heard –" George said.

"– that you have been –" Fred whispered.

"– playing piano for the snakes" they both finished in a murmur.

"I've heard it too" Ginny added from her position hidden behind the twins, which made them jump and had Avaya and Lee laughed.

"Well I do play piano, but not necessarily for the Slytherins. It just happens that my piano is in the common room" she explained when she stopped laughing.

"Would you play for us? Pleeeeease" begged Ginny.

Avaya looked at the other girl and her brothers and signed heavily in surrender. "Fine" she agreed. Lee walked around her and smiled as he looked at the three Weasleys' antics.

"I don't think you really had a choice" he said to Avaya, "but I'm sure it will make them even happier than they can show to hear you play. We've heard you're pretty good."

Avaya blushed slightly at the compliment. "I'll kill whoever talked... no I'll torture them instead" she whispered an evil smile showing on her face.

Lee laughed and gently pulled her in the common room.

She looked around for a good place and found one near the window. She hushed the few students that sat there with the help of the three Weasleys, took her wand out and wondered if she should transform a table into a piano or simply summon hers. And then she decided; if she summoned it, it would alert the Slytherins, which would definitely help in finding who had talked. So she waved her wand to move the furniture around. Everyone, even the three Weasleys, was now quiet in face of the incredible display of magic from the second year Slytherin girl. Then she took a deep breath, closed her eyes and pictures the piano in her common room and wished it to appear in front of her. She could feel her magic around her and when she opened her eyes, the piano was there.

"Wow! How did she do that" she heard Hermione whisper.

She sat at the bench and looked at Ginny. "Well any special request, Ginny?" she asked with a smile. The small girl came to murmur something in her ear and she nodded. "I think I have exactly the thing." And she started playing. Fur Elise was one of her favourite song, one of clear summer day, of love and other feelings deep to the heart. As she played, the Gryffindor common room became silent. They were all listening to the melody and she heard some whispers of how beautiful it was. Avaya had never known love, but she still could put all her longing for it in the song. And to the ears of the audience, it just made it unbelievably real. As she finished the musical piece, Aya saw the red-hair girl drying a tear from her cheek. Ginny walked to her as she still sat on the bench and hugged her. "Thank you" she said, her voice full of emotion before leaving for her dorm. Avaya didn't really know how to react, but soon she was pulled out of her musing as everyone clapped and cheered loudly. She slightly blushed again and waved to say it was nothing. As she walked to the Golden Trio, the twins walked with her. She looked at their smiling face and shrugged.

"I need to talk to you three" she said to Harry, Ron and Hermione. She looked at the twins again and shrugged once more. "About this whole Chamber of Secret mess" she finished in a murmur low enough only for the six of them to hear.

The twins lost their smile at this but they still went to sit down with the Trio. Harry was the first one to reply. "Good, I'd like to get your opinion on something."

Aya sat next to Hermione and silently threw a silencing charm around them so the others couldn't hear their discussion. She felt the other witch stiffen and she knew she wanted to ask questions, but now was not the time. "So what did you guys came up with? You know the legend right?"

Hermione answered. "Yes, we got it out of Professor Binns today." Avaya looked at her like she had grown a second head. "I left my copy of _Hogwarts: A History_ at home and I couldn't remember the details."

"I'm impressed" the Slytherin girl explained. "Binns? You didn't kill him a second time by interrupting his class?" They all laughed.

"If only" said Ron, "then maybe we would get a real teacher."

"You know Ron, that's not entirely a bad idea. But how do we get rid of a ghost?" she mused. A couple of seconds passed. "Sorry, totally off-board. So you found out the legend, what else?" she asked.

The twins were quiet but following the exchange. Avaya wasn't sure why they were still there but she didn't mind. She could sense them looking at her more than normal and she wondered why. But as she concentrated on the two other boys, she realized they were nervous. "Hmmm... let me guess" she said with a smile. "You think that perhaps Malfoy is the heir, or maybe Parkinson?" They all looked up at her with surprise on their face. "Oh please, it wasn't really hard to figure you know. Malfoy has been a prat to you guys all last year and Parkinson was the one who said that the Muggle-borns would be next. And it's always easier to accuse the Slytherins of whatever evil is going on." She sighed and rolled her eyes. "Well let me assure you that Draco has nothing to do with it. Pansy, I can't say for sure. But if she was it, Slytherin's common sense would have dictated that she kept quiet, not to attract attention on her. That's what Slytherins do after all when they are the culprits. They stay quiet, keep low and find a scapegoat" she finished winking at them.

But Ron didn't buy it. "How can you be so sure?" he demanded angrily.

"Well, Ron, as I said, I can't say for sure about Pansy, but don't worry about the Slytherins, I'll keep an eye on them. If it's one of them, I'll find out" she said her voice cold. "As for my dear cousin" she continued with a hint of humour, "I had a little chat with him, and with Teddy too before you ask, and none of them are involved."

"But..." started Ron again.

"There is no but, Ron" Aya said sternly to him. "I scared them enough that they would not have lied. And if they still had tried, I would have known immediately."

"How?" asked a curious Fred.

"I can tell when people lie to me, Fred" she answered with a sigh. "I don't know how I do it, but I just know." She turned towards Ron. "So believe me Ron, I know for sure they did not lie." Then she grinned at them. "But I have grounds to believe that Lucius might be involved though."

"WHAT?" five voices echoed.

Avaya laughed and after having their word that they would not repeat what they were about to hear without her consent, reported to them what had happened earlier that week, the conversation she had had with the two Slytherin boys and the conclusions she had drawn.

Ron looked at her with a new found respect. "Aya, remind me never to get on your bad side."

They all laughed but quickly found their seriousness back as the Slytherin girl started talking again. "So you know where I'm at right now. I'm hoping that Draco can get some more information out of Lucius about what is happening or just some general warning that could give us a clue, but I won't bet on that."

"Wait, Aya" interrupted Harry. "If Malfoy senior knows about it, why did he still let his son come to school?"

"Good question, mate" muttered Ron.

Aya wondered why she always had to be the one to think, she looked at Hermione, but the girl was deep in thoughts. She then looked at the twins and they smiled at her.

"Well think about it, guys" Fred said, "wouldn't it look suspect if he suddenly pulled his son out of Hogwarts."

"Yeah" continued George, "and he probably thinks that the Heir wouldn't touch the Malfoys anyways."

Avaya was a bit relieved to see she wasn't the only one who could see passed the obvious. "Exact" she agreed smiling at the twins. "Anyways, I'll keep an eye on the Slytherins and if you guys could help with that murder, maybe it would help."

"Why didn't you tell Teddy to ask his father for more details, he was there back then" Hermione asked.

Avaya snorted as she answered. "Because in case you weren't listening, Hermione, I did say that Teddy's father only talked when he was drunk. I don't think it would be a good idea for Teddy to bring up a story that was disclose under the influence of alcohol. And Teddy's relationship with his father didn't strike me as a really close one. But..." she thought for a second or two, "if we could find someone else who was here and to whom we could ask, that would be good."

"Ok" agreed Hermione. "We'll take care of that and you use your skill to keep an eye on the Slytherins" she said decisively. "Oh, before I forget, we saw something strange earlier. I don't know if it's related, but you should know anyways." And Hermione proceeded in telling Avaya about their trip to the crime scene, the spiders acting weirdly and their fruitless talk with Moaning Myrtle. Avaya registered the information and archived it somewhere in her head. She had no idea if it was related, but it was still good to know.

Once all information had been exchanged, she stood up and cancelled the spell around them. "Well, before I go back with my piano, what about I play a last song."

"YAY!" yelled both the twins as the others nodded.

Hermione looked at her two best friends as the Slytherin girl went to the piano. "I guess we forget the Polyjuice idea" she whispered. Both boys nodded seriously. It wasn't worth it anymore, and they trusted Avaya.

Sitting at the bench, Aya pondered on what she should play. She didn't even notice the rest of the common room slowly quieting down. And then inspiration kicked in and it would give a surprise to the Gryffindors. She started playing, low notes first and then higher ones and the music just started to flow, a song that was far from her usual classical melodies, a song that was meant to be sung. As she started singing of her soprano voice, she heard gasp in the room. The Gryffindors had not been expected that and Avaya's angel voice just touched them even more deeply.

"_So close no matter how far / Couldn't be much more from the heart / Forever trust in who we are / And nothing else matters.  
Never opened myself this way / Life is ours, we live it our way / All these words I don't just say / And nothing else matters.  
Trust I seek and I find in you / Everyday for us something new / Open mind for a different view / And nothing else matters.  
Never cared for what they do / Never care for what they know/ But I know.  
So close no matter how far / Couldn't be much more from the heart / Forever trust in who we are / And nothing else matters.  
Never cared for what they do / Never care for what they know/ But I know._"

Then she stopped singing and played piano with all of her soul. Having a quick glance at the twins who were simply gaping at her, she had a small smile. And she started singing again.

"_I never opened myself this way / Life is ours, we live it our way / All these words I don't just say / And nothing else matters.  
Trust I seek and I find in you / Every day for us something new / Open mind for a different view / And nothing else matters.  
Never cared for what they say/ Never cared for games they play / Never cared for what they do / Never care for what they know/ And I know."_

Once again she stopped singing and it was as if the piano had taken a life of its own for a minute before slowly calming down and as the quiet melody continued, she sang the last verse.

_So close no matter how far / Couldn't be much more from the heart / Forever trust in who we are / And nothing else matters._"

The music continued for a bit, slow and calming until the last note was played. Avaya turned apprehensively towards the Gryffindors she knew were listening and she found herself facing a bunch of opened jaw. "Honestly, Gryffindors, weren't you ever told that it's not proper to stare and keep your mouth open like that?" she joke to ease the atmosphere.

The firsts to react were the twins who just started clapping and everyone followed suit. She turned around to send the piano back in her common room and the Gryffindors dispersed when the twins and the Golden Trio got nearer to their friend. "Well I should head back to the Dungeons before curfew" she said smiling at them.

"That was..." started Fred.

"Bloody brilliant!" finished Ron with George glaring at him.

Avaya laughed. She had fun with the twins around. She decided she should try to spend more time with them too. "So how is it you never told us you could play piano or sing?" asked Harry curious.

"I have my secrets" she replied in a perfect imitation of the same answer she had given the twins earlier. "Well I'll be heading back now. See you around." She waved as she left the Gryffindor Tower.

Quietly she made her way to the Dungeons, while putting her mask back on her face. She knew exactly the entrance she would do. Hopefully most the House would be in the common room with the mysterious disappearance and reappearance of the piano, and the impact would be even greater. _Oh, I am so evil_, she thought laughing inwardly. She paused in front of the archway, took a deep breath, placed a scowl à la Snape on her face and gave the password. As she entered, almost the whole House turn to face her. She took her time looking at everyone she could and then spoke of her colder than the Malfoy voice. "Someone talked in front of the Gryffindors. Said I played piano for the House. Whoever you are" she continued accentuating the next four words, "I will find you." She took another look around and finished her speech. "When I do, whatever the Dark lord could do to you will be pale in comparison to what you will suffer at my hands." She slowly walked towards her personal room. "Have a good night Slytherins" she finished without turning back. Avaya took her time to go back in her room, all for effect, but once in there, she had to throw a silencing charm to make sure no one would hear her laughing. She would definitely have to tell that one to the twins, she thought as she prepared for bed. They would have the laugh of their lives.


	10. A Crazy Bludger

**Chapter 10  
A Crazy Bludger**

Since the disastrous episode of the pixies with the Gryffindors and Ravenclaws, Professor Lockhart had not brought live creatures to class. Instead, he read passages from his books to them, and sometimes re-enacted some of the more dramatic bits. He would usually pick some of the Hufflepuffs to help him with these reconstructions; well he didn't really have a choice in the matter considering the Slytherins would just glare at him if he even started suggesting they help in his stupid little plays. Avaya simply couldn't believe the idiocy of that teacher and the sarcastic retorts she gave to his questions always had her Housemates snigger. She wouldn't usually show so little respect towards a professor, but that man was just an idiot in her humble opinion. And that week, he had given them for homework a poem to write about his defeat of the Wagga Wagga werewolf.

"That's it!" she said as she got out of the Defence class that day. "He wants a poem, he shall have a poem. We will see how much he will enjoy it. And I'm filing an official complaint to Snape tomorrow. I don't even understand how Dumbledore could even remotely believe that the idiot was qualified" she groaned to her Housemate. "Did he not even realize that the man his lying through his teeth? How infuriating!"

"But you can't know for sure he's lying" stated Crabbe.

"Oh, but I do" she replied, and turning around to look at the other boy, "I always know when someone is lying, Vince. Remember that" she warned him and everyone around. Her cousin shudder at the thought while Teddy remembered something his father had told him once about how the Dark Lord would always know when someone lied to him and wonder if it could be some sort of magical gift.

The rest of the day went quickly and soon it was time to go to bed. The following day would be the first Quidditch game of the season, Slytherin against Gryffindor, and Avaya had promised her cousin she would go and cheer for him. She wasn't really keen on Quidditch, but she thought it was the right thing to do and she wanted to spend some time with Teddy too. She had been more often in the company of her Gryffindor friends lately. What with the whole Chamber of Secrets problem and her decision not to involve any Slytherin in her search for the truth. There was also the fact that she simply enjoyed the twins' company and sense of humour. So it was with that in mind that the little girl went to bed for an eventless and peaceful night.

She woke up early on Saturday morning, as was her habit, and as she went for a shower, she decided to try something to cheer for her team. She knew she would wear her Slytherin coloured scarf and gloves, after all November was a cold month, but she wanted to do more. As she dried her hair, she had an idea. She didn't know a spell for what she wanted to do, but she still grabbed her wand in one hand and a lock of her hair and concentrating on what she wanted to do, she touched her hair with the wand. To her surprise it worked. She now had a lock of Slytherin green hair in her hand. Happy about the results, she started again with another lock and another and another until she was satisfied. She now had green strikes in her hair, but she thought it would be even better if she could somehow manage to get some silver in there. She thought of the snow and how it sparkled when it had just fallen and no one had touched it yet and decided that she wanted silver sparkling in her hair. She took a deep breath and decisively held her wand over her head and willed sparkles that would stick to her hair. She looked at the result in the mirror and, with a big grin, declared herself satisfied. She quickly finished dressing and went for breakfast.

The Great Hall was almost empty. Only some Ravenclaws and the Gryffindor team were already in there. Avaya walked to them assuredly. "Good luck" she said cheerfully. Harry looked at her with wide eyes and simply groaned. "I'm sure you won't need it though" she continued. The twins who had also been staring at her finally woke up from the shock she had induced.

"What in Merlin's name –" started Fred.

"– have you done to your hair?" finished George.

Avaya laughed at the frown showing on their face. "Fred, George, please tell me you didn't forget that I _am_ actually a Slytherin."

"Of course not" they both said, "but..."

"I promised my cousin I would cheer for him" she explained with a shrug.

"Isn't it a bit too much?" doubted Harry. "Not that it doesn't look good or anything, but..."

Avaya laughed again. "Well then, I'll make sure not to put red and gold in my hair next time you play and I cheer for you" she replied mischievously.

The shock on the twins face transformed in horror. "That's not what we meant!" precipitately cut Fred.

"Yeah!" continued George. "We'd love to see the red and gold –"

"I guess it's just that we hadn't expected you to fully support the Slytherin team even if it is your own House" clarified Harry.

Avaya smiled at them. "And you think I'd be here if I fully supported my team" she said winking at them. "Anyways, I know the Slytherins have better brooms, but you guys have the best Seeker" she continued, smiling at Harry. "Or so I heard. And you have two Beaters who think like one. So I'm sure you'll do just well." She started walking back, but changed her thought at the last minute and looked at the entire team this time. "Don't forget, Slytherins may play ruff" she stated seriously, "but we actually excel in psychological warfare. Don't fall for it and there shouldn't be any problem." She then finally walked away with a wave of her hand. "See you later, Gryffindors."

Avaya went to her table and started eating. Not long after she had started her toasts, she was joined by Teddy. She had noticed that the other boy, at the opposite of her cousin, was also an early bird.

"I love your hair" he said as he sat in front of her with a smile and served himself some food.

"I think I almost shocked to death some of the Gryffindors" she replied with a smile and both shared a laugh.

* * *

As eleven o'clock approached, the whole school started to make its way down to the Quidditch stadium. It was a muggy sort of day with a hint of thunder in the air. Avaya slowly made her way with Teddy and took place near Crabbe and Goyle in the Slytherins' stand. A lot of her Housemates gave compliments on her hair and some of the girls even seemed envious. Finally, the Slytherin team got out of the changing rooms and they all cheered while the rest of the school booed them. When the Gryffindor team entered the pitch, the opposite happened. The Gryffindors, Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs greeted them with a roar of cheers. They were all anxious to see Slytherin beaten after all. But the Slytherins in the crowd made their boos and hisses heard too. Avaya simply clapped politely. She was simply against the idea of booing and the fact remained that she had three friends on the Gryffindor team.

Madam Hooch had Flint and Wood shake hands, which they did but it seemed to Avaya that they almost played a game of arm fight, or hand fight in this case. Hooch finally blew her whistle and the fourteen players rose towards the leaden sky. Avaya noticed Harry flying higher than the others, no doubt already looking for the Snitch, and her cousin shooting underneath him as though to show off the speed of his broom.

At that very moment, a heavy black Bludger went pelting towards Harry and he avoided it so narrowly that Avaya was sure it would hit him. She saw George streaking past harry with his club in his hand. George gave the black ball a powerful whack in the direction of Adrian Pucey, one of the Slytherin Chasers, but the Bludger changed direction in mid-air and shot straight to Harry again. Aya had a bad feeling and she unconsciously grabbed Teddy's hand.

"Teddy?" she said hesitantly, "is it normal for a Bludger to act that way?" she asked pointing towards Harry.

Theodore watched as Potter dropped quickly to avoid the said ball and as one of the Weasley twin hit it hard towards Malfoy. But to his surprise, the Bludger swerved like a boomerang and shot at Potter's head. Teddy felt Avaya's hand squeeze his harder. Potter put on a burst of speed and zoomed towards the other end of the pitch, but Nott could see the Bludger whistling along behind the Gryffindor Seeker. _What is going on?_ _Bludgers never concentrate on one player like this, it is their job to try and unseat as many people as possible,_ he thought looking hard at the scene.

The other Weasley twin was waiting for the Bludger at the other end of the pitch and when Potter got there, he ducked as the red hair Gryffindor swung his bat with all his might. The Bludger finally seemed to be knocked off course and Teddy heard Aya's relived sigh, but she was wrong to be relieved he realized as the damn ball pelted after Potter once more as though it was magnetically attracted towards the boy. Potter was forced to fly off at full speed.

It had started to rain and Aya had thrown an Impervius charm to herself, Teddy, Vince and Greg so they wouldn't get wet. She wasn't even paying attention to the game, scared as she was for Harry. She heard at some point Lee Jordan, who was commentating, say "Slytherin lead, sixty points to zero." The Slytherins' superior brooms were clearly doing their jobs, and meanwhile the mad Bludger was doing all it could to knock Harry out of the air. Fred and George were now flying so close to Harry on both side of him that Avaya would have been honestly impressed if Harry actually managed to catch the snitch in these conditions.

"Someone's tampered with that Bludger" Teddy confirmed as Fred once again swung his bat with all his might at the ball as it launched a new attack on Harry.

Avaya started thinking fast and hard. What could she possibly do right now? She noticed the Gryffindor taking time out and discussing. They probably were talking about the rogue Bludger, but what could they do? If they demanded an investigation, they would have to declare forfeit. "Is our House responsible for this?" she suddenly asked Teddy with seriousness.

"I wouldn't think so, Aya" he answered truthfully. "All the balls are locked in Madam Hooch's office between practices and games. And she would have noticed if something was wrong with them before the match."

"So it was cursed or bewitched right as the game begun" she reasoned.

"Yes, but I don't know of anyone who would be able to do that. What kind of spell would force a Bludger to attack only one player?" Teddy replied.

Avaya noticed the Gryffindor team getting ready once more. _I have to find something!_ she inwardly yelled at herself. She couldn't try to throw a _Finite_ or another spell at the ball, for she was way too far and the thing was moving. She would probably miss and would risk touching one of the player. And that's when it hit her. She now knew what to do. As the Gryffindor took flight, she extended her hand towards the crazy Bludger and let her power loose. She could not use her wand, but she could definitely simply use her will to stop the damn ball. She had decided on her course of action. It had been stupid of her to suddenly forget what she actually was able of. She blamed it on the fact that she always used her wand in classes and in front of others. She had only been doing wandless magic scarcely and in the privacy of her room lately.

The Slytherins around were not paying attention until they felt the raw power emanating from her, and then they all felt silent. Avaya forgot about everything around her and simply concentrated on the Bludger, her right hand directing the raw magic towards it. She felt it when the two magical forces clashed together and she put all her strength in winning over the other one and immobilizing the bloody thing. She barely noticed how it felt somewhat familiar and registered the fact to study it later. The rain was falling harder now and she saw that Harry was concentrating on finding the snitch. _Hurry up_, she thought starting to feel tired. The magic in the Bludger was fighting hers and it was no small magic, she now realized. Sweat beads appeared on her forehead.

Teddy was starting to worry. He could see the determination on his surrogate little sister's face, but he could also see that whatever she was doing was starting to take its toll on her. And the latter was bothering him more than anything. He knew the small girl was powerful and for a powerful witch to tire by simply doing magic, even wandless magic, meant she was probably using lots of it at the moment. "Aya..." he said uncertain as to how to stop her.

But the concern in Teddy's voice was enough to break the girl's concentration and during the seconds that she did, she saw the Bludger, as in slow motion, smashed into Harry's elbow. Her eyes immediately turned to an obsidian color with anger. "Dammit, Teddy" she warned him as she concentrated once more and neutralized the black ball.

She never saw Harry diving towards her cousin and catching the snitch. She never saw him heading straight for the ground and hitting the mud, rolling off his broom. She never heard the shouting and whistling. But she kept the Bludger under control until black spots started appearing in her vision. She then looked at Teddy, "Oops" she let out in a breath as she passed out in the Slytherin boy's arms.

Draco had somewhat felt his cousin's power, but he had been too engrossed in the game and in his insulting of Potter to try to find out what was going on. But now he had lost the match and Aya's power had withdrawn. Curious, he looked towards the Slytherins stands, where he had had a glimpse of his cousin earlier. What he saw shocked him even more than Potter catching the Snitch right from under his nose. Theodore Nott was carrying an unconscious Avaya Black while Crabbe and Goyle cleared the way for them. No doubt Nott was making his way to the hospital wing. Draco flew to where his Head of House was. If he didn't already know, someone had to tell him that Aya was unwell.

"Sir, Sir!" he yelled as he landed. "Avaya, she passed out. I think Nott was carrying her to the hospital."

"I know" was the only reply coming from Snape as he quickly strode away, Malfoy trailing him.

Flint had tried to stop Draco, yelling about him having the Snitch on top of his head and not even seeing it, but Draco had glared hard at him and replied in a cold voice that he had more urgent matters to deal with, such as an unconscious cousin, and that if he didn't want to be hexed until next year he'd better move out of his way. Flint quietly complied, wondering if the two cousins' flaring temper was a family thing and hoping for Black's prompt recovery. He didn't really know the girl, but like anyone else, he liked it when she played piano.

* * *

Severus made it to the hospital wing not long after his students. Poppy was waving her wand over the small girl who had been magically dress into pyjamas and had been laid down under the covers of the bed. She looked at him as if all this was entirely his fault and answered the unasked question. "Magical exhaustion" she told him. Severus was about to question the young Nott when the hospital doors opened to let the Golden Trio come in and not far behind them, Malfoy. But before Poppy could take care of Potter, the Gryffindors' eyes fell on their Slytherin friend.

"Avaya?" whispered Potter. "What's wrong with her?" he asked Nott, concerned.

"Magical exhaustion is what Madam Pomfrey said" stated the other boy.

"But... how?" wondered Ron.

"She saw the rogue Bludger going after you, Potter" explained Nott. "And I guess she realized there was nothing she could do with her wand like throwing a _Finite Incantatem_. So instead she simply used raw magic. She neutralized the Bludger, but I could see it was hard on her; she started sweating. And when the game was over, she let it go and just passed out" he finished trying to be as coherent as he could.

"Bu if she neutralized it, how is it that it still hit Harry?" asked a somewhat suspicious Hermione.

The three conscious Slytherins in the room glared at her. "I was worried and tried to stop her, Granger" Nott replied, anger towards the Muggle-born barely hidden.

Hermione was about to reply, but both Gryffindor boys glared at her and Madam Pomfrey interrupted them before it could get ugly. "Well she'll be out of it for at least most of the night. It all depends on how quick her magical core replenishes itself. It is always hard to tell how long the process can take. For normal people, it could take days or weeks. But from what I just heard, Miss Black could barely be considered as the norm. Anyways, until her magic is back to the minimal level required by her body, she will stay in this magical coma. It's good of you, Mr Nott, to have tried to stop her, even if it didn't work" she finished with soft tones.

"Yeah, right" murmured Teddy. But Poppy did not hear him as she was now looking over Potter and exclaiming something about mending bones and growing them. Before Pomfrey could throw them out, and because he knew there was nothing they could do right now, Snape directed his two Slytherins to go back to their common room, telling them that they would be informed when Miss Black would awake.

Harry noticed Snape directing his Slytherins out and thought about what Nott had said as he changed into pyjamas with the help of Ron. It took a while to stuff the rubbery, boneless arm into a sleeve. Harry simply couldn't believe the idiocy of Lockhart, and considered talking to Avaya about it when she would wake up. Maybe there was something she would be able to tell him about the man's stupidity. It seemed to him that the Slytherin girl always knew some things that others didn't.

"How can you stick up for Lockhart now, Hermione, eh?" Ron called through the curtain as he pulled Harry's limp fingers through the cuff. "If Harry had wanted de-boning, he would have asked."

"Anyone can make a mistake" said Hermione. "And it doesn't hurt any more, does it, Harry?"

"No" said Harry, "but it doesn't do anything else either." Harry had still not forgotten the somewhat accusing tone Hermione had used when questioning Nott's story. Harry had no doubt that what Nott had said had exactly happened as described, but for a reason he couldn't fathom yet, it seemed like, deep down, the two girls weren't getting along, no matter how they actually acted in the presence of others. Another thing he would have to ask his Slytherin friend when she would be awake.

As he swung himself onto the bed, his arm flapped pointlessly. Hermione and Madam Pomfrey came around the curtain. Madam Pomfrey was holding a large bottle of something labelled "Skele-Gro".

"You're in for a rough night" she said, pouring out a steaming beakerful and handing it to him. "Regrowing bones is a nasty business."

So was taking the Skele-Gro. It burned Harry's mouth and throat as it went down, making him cough and splutter. Still tut-tutting about dangerous sports and inept teachers, Madam Pomfrey retreated, leaving Ron and Hermione to help Harry gulp down some water.

"We won, though" said Ron, a grin breaking across his face. "That was some catch you made. Malfoy's face... he looked ready to kill!"

"I want to know how he fixed that Bludger" said Hermione darkly.

"I don't think it was him" said Harry, sinking back onto his pillows. "But we can ask Aya when she wakes up."

Hermione snorted but couldn't say anything else as the door to the hospital wing burst open at that moment. Filthy and soaking wet, the rest of the Gryffindor team had arrived to see Harry.

"Unbelievable flying, Harry" said George. "I've seen Marcus Flint yelling at Malfoy. Something about having the Snitch on top of his head and not noticing. Malfoy didn't seem too happy."

"He was probably more worried than unhappy" Harry noted.

"Worried about what?" asked Fred. "Being expelled from the team for being the lousiest Seeker ever?"

"No" replied Harry seriously. And nodding his head towards the bed in front of his, he explained, "Aya tried her best to stop the Bludger. She's in here for magical exhaustion."

The rest of the team, who had not seen the other occupant in their haste to visit Harry, all looked towards the pointed bed and noticed the small form of Avaya Black. Her hair was now back to its normal hues, probably due to the fact that she had no magic to sustain the charm. The Weasley twins shared a look that only the two of them understood while the rest only stared. It was Fred who broke the uncomfortable silence first. "Aya is a fighter, Harry. Don't worry; she'll be back up in no time."

The atmosphere was still a bit heavy as the team minus the twins gathered around Harry. They had brought cakes, sweets and bottles of pumpkin juice. Fred and George walked to each side of Avaya's bed and both took one her tiny hands.

"Thanks, Aya" whispered George slightly squeezing her hand before heading back towards Harry's bed.

"You're truly an angel, little Miss Black" murmured Fred. "With your recklessness, you could almost pass for a Gryffindor" he continued with a silent laugh. "Be careful and don't stay asleep for too long. Who knows what could happen if you're not around to control the hot tempered people. And we'll make it up to you for Harry, promise. Take care" he finished before squeezing her hand just like his brother had done.

Fred was about to join the rest of the team who was just starting on what promised to be a good party when Madam Pomfrey came storming over, shouting, "This boy needs rest, he's got thirty-three bones to regrow! And that's not talking of Miss Black who is in a magical coma! So out! OUT!"

And Harry was left alone, with nothing to distract him from the stabbing pains in his limp arm and the guilt of seeing Avaya so pale and immobile and without the mischievous smile she would always wear when around the twins.

* * *

Avaya woke up with a start, sitting in her bed and wondering for a second where she was and what had woken her up. She looked around and realized she was in the Hospital Wing, which would make sense considering the last thing she remembered was her vision blackening after using too much raw magic. In front of her, someone was lying in bed with what appeared to be a house-elf sponging the forehead of the person.

"Dobby?" a loud voice asked as she looked at the scene. _Harry_, she thought. She slowly got out of bed and walked quietly towards Harry's bed, trying to feel Dobby's magic.

"Harry Potter came back to school" the house-elf whispered miserably. Avaya now knew what had woken her up. It was Dobby. She remembered Harry talking about the house-elf, but she also remembered the strange magic that was now emanating from the creature. "Dobby warned and warned Harry Potter. Ah sir, why didn't you heed Dobby? Why didn't Harry Potter go back home when he almost missed the train?"

As soon as he said this, Dobby was pinned to Harry's bed, Avaya holding him there with both hands and the little magic she had recovered. "I knew your magic felt familiar" she said in a menacing tone. "You were the one who blocked the passage to the platform. And you also were the one who cursed that bloody Bludger. Do you realize you almost got Harry killed?" she asked furious.

Now that the initial shock from the scene was gone, Harry sat up and put a hand on Avaya's arm. "Let him go, Aya" he said in soft tone. And when the small girl let go of Dobby, he turned his eyes towards the house-elf. The soft tone was gone when he questioned the house-elf. "Is what she said true, Dobby?"

Dobby's lip trembled as he sat back on the bed and looked at the two students. He nodded unsure. "But Dobby never wanted to kill Harry Potter" he said, tears forming in his eyes and now shaking his head. "Dobby wants to save Harry Potter's life! That is why Dobby hid and watched for Harry Potter at King's Cross and sealed the gateway to Platform 9¾. Dobby had to iron his hands afterwards..." he showed them ten, long, bandaged fingers, "but Dobby didn't care, sir, for he thought Harry Potter was safe, and _never_ did Dobby dream that Harry potter would still be able to go through the barrier!"

He was now rocking backwards and forwards, still shaking his ugly head. "Dobby was so shocked when he heard Harry Potter was back at Hogwarts, he let his master's dinner burn! Such a flogging Dobby never had, sir..." Dobby blew his nose on a corner of the filthy pillowcase he wore, looking so pathetic that Harry and Avaya felt their anger ebb away in spite of themselves.

"Why do you wear that thing, Dobby?" Harry asked curiously.

"This, sir?" said Dobby, plucking at the pillowcase. "'Tis a mark of the house-elf's enslavement, sir. Dobby can only be freed if his masters present him with clothes, sir. The family is careful not to pass Dobby even a sock, sir, for then he would be free to leave their house for ever."

Dobby mopped his bulging eyes and said suddenly, "Harry Potter _must go_ home! Dobby thought his Bludger would be enough to make..."

"Yeah!" interrupted Harry, anger rising once more. "Care to tell us why you tried to kill me with that Bludger?"

"Not kill you, sir" said Dobby shocked. "Dobby thought it was better if Harry Potter was sent home, even grievously injured, instead of remaining here, sir! Dobby only wanted Harry Potter hurt enough to be sent home!"

"Oh, is that all?" said Harry angrily. "I don't suppose you're going to tell us _why_ you wanted me sent home in pieces?"

"Ah, if Harry Potter only knew!" Dobby groaned, more tears dripping onto his ragged pillowcase. "If he knew what he means to us, to the lowly, the enslaved, us dregs of the magical world! Dobby remembers how it was when He Who Must Not Be Named was at the height of his powers, sir! We house-elves were treated like vermin, sir! Of course, Dobby is still treated like that, sir" he admitted, drying his face on the pillowcase. "But mostly, sir, life has improved for my kind since you triumphed over He Who Must Not Be Named. Harry Potter survived, and the Dark Lord's power was broken, and it was a new dawn, sir, and Harry Potter shone like a beacon of hope for those of us who thought the dark days would never end, sir... And now, at Hogwarts, terrible things are to happen, are perhaps happening already, and Dobby cannot let Harry Potter stay here now that history is to repeat itself, now that the Chamber of Secrets is open once more..." Dobby froze, horror-struck, and made for the water jug on Harry's bedside table, only to be promptly stopped by Avaya.

"We already know about the Chamber of Secrets and how it was opened fifty years ago, Dobby, so no need to punish you" she told the housel-elf who was still trying to reach the table. "Dobby?" Avaya asked authoritatively, suddenly having an idea. She threw a look at Harry that meant not to interrupt her and when Dobby finally looked at her, she asked her question. "Is your family the Longbottoms?" The look on Dobby's face would have made Aya laugh had the situation not been so serious. "What about the Notts?" There she saw a bit of fear, but it was still not it. It was probably just recognition of the name since Nott senior was a Death Eater after all. It was probably right to assume that he and Lucius would have met somewhat regularly or they could even be friends. Aya had to hurry; Dobby had started shaking his head once more, as if he knew what she was trying to do. "And the Malfoys?"

At this Dobby shook his head harder. "Dobby can't say, miss, Dobby can't, Dobby mustn't tell!" And he looked at Harry once more, "Go home, Harry Potter, go home!" he said urgently.

"I'm not going anywhere!" said Harry fiercely. "One of my best friends is Muggle-born, she'll be in the first targeted if we don't stop whoever opened the Chamber..."

"Harry Potter risks his own life for his friends!" moaned Dobby, in a kind of miserable ecstasy. "So noble! So valiant! But he must save himself, he must, Harry Potter must not..." Dobby suddenly froze, his bat ears quivering. Harry and Avaya heard it too. There were footsteps coming down the passageway outside. "Dobby must go!" breathed the elf, terrified; there was a loud crack and he was gone.

"We'll talk later" Avaya whispered as she quickly made her way back to her bed. Harry slumped back into bed, his eyes on the dark doorway to the hospital wing as the footsteps drew nearer.

Next moment, Dumbledore was backing into the dormitory, wearing a long woolly dressing gown and a night cap. He was carrying one end of what looked like a statue. Professor McGonagall appeared a second later, carrying its feet. Together, they heaved it onto a bed.

"Get Madam Pomfrey" whispered Dumbledore, and Professor McGonagall hurried past the end of Harry's and Avaya's beds out of sight. Harry and Avaya laid quite still, pretending to be asleep. They heard urgent voices, and then Professor McGonagall swept back into view, closely followed by Madam Pomfrey, who was still pulling a cardigan on over her nightdress. They heard a sharp intake of breath.

"What happened?" Madam Pomfrey whispered to Dumbledore, bending over the statue on the bed.

"Another attack" said Dumbledore. "Minerva found him on the stairs."

"There was a bunch of grapes next to him" said Professor McGonagall. "We think he was trying to sneak up here to visit Potter."

Harry's stomach gave a horrible lurch. Slowly and carefully, he raised himself a few inches so he could look at the statue on the bed. A ray of moonlight lit its staring face. It was Colin Creevey. His eyes were wide and his hands were stuck up in front of him, holding his camera. As Harry slowly laid back, he saw Aya looking at him. She had heard and seen too.

"Petrified?" whispered Madam Pomfrey.

"Yes" said Professor McGonagall. "But I shudder to think... If Albus hadn't been on the way downstairs for hot chocolate, who knows what might have..."

The three of them stared down at Collin. Then Dumbledore leaned forward and prised the camera out of Colin's rigid grip.

"You don't think he managed to get a picture of his attacker?" said Professor McGonagall eagerly.

Dumbledore didn't answer. He forced open the back of the camera.

"Good gracious!" said Madam Pomfrey.

A jet of steam hissed out of the camera. Harry and Avaya, three beds away, caught the acrid smell of burnt plastic.

"Melted" said Madam Pomfrey wonderingly, "all melted..."

"What does this _mean_, Albus?" Professor McGonagall asked urgently.

"It means" said Dumbledore, "that the Chamber of Secrets is indeed open again."

Madam Pomfrey clapped a hand to her mouth. Professor McGonagall stared at Dumbledore.

"But Albus... surely... _who_?"

"The question is not _who_" said Dumbledore, his eyes on Colin. "The question is, _how_..."

And from what Harry could see of Professor McGonagall's shadowy face, she didn't understand what the Headmaster meant. Harry threw a quick glance at Avaya who simply shook her head at him. They would be discussing this later, as she had said.


	11. The Duelling Club

**Chapter 11  
The Duelling Club**

Avaya woke up on Sunday morning to find the hospital wing blazing with winter sunlight. She felt a bit dizzy and weak, but that was to be expected with the amount of magic she had used to neutralize Dobby's Bludger and then Dobby. She slowly sat up and looked over at Colin's bed, but it had been blocked from view by some high curtains. Seeing that she was awake, Madam Pomfrey, surprised, came bustling over with a breakfast tray and then began waving her wand over her.

"So, what's the verdict?" Avaya asked the nurse.

"Well, it seems like your magical core is at least at its minimal considering you're awake" said the woman, "but I don't think it's fully replenished. You realize that you were brought here because of magical exhaustion? How are you feeling?"

"I guessed that much, and honestly, I'm a bit dizzy and I feel as though I just woke up from a really bad cold" the girl answered truthfully.

"Yes, that sounds like it. You'll be a bit weak until your magic level is back to normal. I don't see any reason to keep you here. There's not much I can do anyways. There are no potions or spell for this problem. But you will have to control the amount of magic you use until you're all well. And I'll know if you don't because you'll simply faint again" finished Poppy with a stern glare.

"Yeah, okay" reluctantly agreed Avaya.

"When you've finished eating, you may leave" concluded Madam Pomfrey who went over to fetch another breakfast for Harry who had just woken up.

Avaya ate and watched as the nurse stretched and bent Harry's arm and fingers. "All in order" she said, as Harry clumsily fed himself porridge left-handed. "You can leave too when you're done with your breakfast" she finished, leaving the two alone.

They each took turn behind another set of curtains to change and left the infirmary together. Harry wanted to update Ron and Hermione on what had transpired during the night and since Aya would not talk about it with the Slytherins, she decided to go with him. On their way to the Gryffindor Tower, Harry suddenly stopped and looked hesitantly at the girl accompanying him.

"What's wrong Harry?" she asked worried.

"I... uh... I would like to ask you some questions" Harry tried tentatively.

"Well, go ahead, then" she replied invitingly.

"Hermione and you, has something happened?" And seeing the questioning look on Avaya's face, Harry explained himself. "Well it seems like you two get along when there's other people around, and yet it seems like deep down you don't really get along. It's just a tone Hermione used and something she said yesterday while you were sleeping that made me wonder about it" he finished hastily.

"Hmmm..." Avaya thought for a second about how to formulate her opinion properly. "Understand Harry that I have nothing against Hermione. She is a nice girl and everything, but maybe we have a bit of a personality conflict. And maybe she sees me as a threat" she suggested.

"What do you mean? I thought you two were the same, what with the way you're both always the nose in a book? And why would Hermione see you as threat?" asked Harry confused.

"Harry..." Avaya sighed. "Hermione and I are similar in the way that we both seek knowledge, yes, but how we expose this knowledge is different. The problem is in the way Hermione impart hers with others. She does it in quite a forceful manner, wouldn't you agree? Anyways, I would not have expected the Slytherins who I study with to go ask her their questions, but when even Neville comes to me with his homework, I just start wondering about that trait of hers. I've talked with him about it, and you know what he told me, Harry? Neville told me that he felt like Hermione was more interested in proving that she knew the stuff than in trying to really help him. You know, I wondered why Hermione never tried to use Neville's aptitude in Herbology to help him in Potions... Maybe she's just good at memorizing the stuff, and I'm not saying she doesn't understand it, but maybe she just doesn't know how to explain it in different ways. That and the fact that she really doesn't need to always spat whatever piece of information she knows for the supposed benefit of everyone around her. I heard some people say that it was an annoying habit of hers, and I'm talking about Gryffindors here, Harry. If you want to help, you, more than anyone else, should try to find a diplomatic way to let her know. I can't do it; I'm hardly a friend of hers, so she would not listen without taking it as undue criticism. And you or Ron should definitely say something before another Gryffindor does."

"Okay" said Harry hesitantly, still absorbing everything that had been said. "But it still doesn't explain why she would see you as a threat" he asked again.

"Well, I only have speculations on this. But my opinion is that she is scared that I will steal you and Ron away. Let's be honest, you two are the only two real friends she has here. And she sees how I get along with Gryffindors just as much as with Slytherins. So she is scared because she sees me as a competition for your friendship. I know it sounds ridiculous, but Fred and George told me about how she was before you got friend with her last year and I guess she's just insecure. Maybe she's never had real friends before because of her bossy attitude, and now that she does, she afraid to lose them. It's not something we can do anything about. I mean, I'm trying to be as friendly as possible with her, and whether she likes me or not for whom I am and what I represent is her own issue to work on. I am not here to steal Ron's friendship or yours away. And it's not like I've been hanging with you guys that much, yes a bit more since the whole Chamber mess started, but I still spend more time with the twins. So maybe Ron and you can simply reassure her that even if you two make more friends, whom can also be her friends, she is still going to stay your best friend" suggested Avaya, starting to tire from all this serious talk.

"Oh, I wouldn't have guessed the source of the problem" replied Harry, "but now that I think about it, you may be right. I'll talk with her" decided Harry. "She's my best friend after all, what kind of friend would I be if I didn't help her when I knew something was wrong?"

Avaya nodded. "Anything else before we start our journey again?"

Harry laughed. "We can discuss the next one as we walk" he said almost jokingly. "It's about Lockhart."

"What about _him_?" groaned Avaya.

And she listened as Harry told her about how the Bludger had broken his arm the day before and how Lockhart had decided to heal it, even though Harry had not wanted to. "And then, the idiot did his thing and he actually vanished all the bones from my arm" finished an indignant and furious Harry.

Avaya sniffed disdainfully. "That man is a fraud."

Which had the boy stop straight in his track. "What do you mean he's a fraud?"

"I mean exactly what I said. When he talks about the stuff he did and wrote in his books, he lies. Remember when I told Ron how I could always tell when someone was lying to me?" Harry nodded. "Well, that is an example of it. The man is definitely lying through his teeth when he talks of his accomplishments. So either he hasn't exactly done what he wrote, or he didn't do it at all, I can't tell exactly what he is lying about unless I directly ask him, but I can tell you for certain that he is lying about his alleged exploits."

Harry sighed, "What a relief to know that our Defence against the Dark Arts teacher is actually a liar. Well at least he doesn't have Voldemort stuck up behind his head."

At this Avaya looked at him curiously. "Care to explain that one, Harry?"

And so as they kept walking, Harry summarized for her the events of his first year at Hogwarts and the unfortunate fate of Professor Quirrell who had been hosting Voldemort behind his head. Avaya found the story disturbing and funny at the same time. How low had the great Lord Voldemort fell was actually the funniest part where Avaya was concerned. But the fact that Dumbledore had hired the man, not noticing that something was wrong, was the most disturbing. Avaya swore to herself to never trust Dumbledore's judgement. Not that she was ready to do so before, but now she had one more reason to distrust the old man.

They finally arrived at the Tower, but Ron and Hermione weren't there, nor were any other Weasley. Wondering what was going on and where everyone had gone, Avaya suggested looking in the library. As they arrived there, they met Percy strolling out, looking in far better spirits than the last time Harry had seen him.

"Oh, hello, Harry, and... euh, Miss Black" he said. Percy was the only Weasley who wasn't friendly with Avaya, yet. "Excellent flying yesterday, really excellent, Harry. Gryffindor has just taken the lead for the House Cup; you earned fifty points!"

"You haven't seen Ron or Hermione, have you?" asked Harry.

"Actually, yes I have" said Percy, his smile faintly fading. "They're in there" he said pointing to the library, "whispering over stacks of books; doesn't seem like homework to me. I hope you guys are not getting into any trouble..." he finished while walking away.

Harry forced an innocent laugh while Avaya kept her Slytherin mask on place. Both watched Percy out of sight and then headed for the library, wondering what the two others could be working on. Avaya spotted them in a darker corner of the library. Percy had not lied, there were lots of books on the table and Ron and Hermione seemed to be arguing over something.

"Hey guys" whispered Harry as they reached the table.

"Hey mate" said Ron. "How's your arm? And glad to see you awake Aya."

"My arm's fine" replied Harry while the girl simply nodded to Ron. "What are you two doing exactly?"

"We'd've come to meet you, but we decided to try to find what Slytherin's monster could be" Ron explained, as Harry and Avaya sat on the other side of the table.

Harry started to tell them about Collin, but Hermione interrupted. "We already know, we heard Professor McGonagall telling Professor Flitwick this morning. That's why we decided we'd better try to get some info..."

"But the sooner we can find out who got expelled last time, the better it would be" snarled Ron. "Have you found out anything about the Slytherins, Aya?"

"It isn't any of the first or second years, but I can't say yet for the rest of them" she simply stated.

"There's something else" said Harry. "Dobby came to visit me in the middle of the night.

Ron and Hermione looked up, amazed. Harry and Avaya told them everything that had happened the night before while the other two listened quietly.

"That's good but we didn't learn anything new" stated Ron.

"That's not exactly true" replied Hermione.

"Hermione's right, Ron" Aya added. "Remember Dobby's reaction to the three families I named. I now have the certitude that he belongs to the Malfoy. And I will verify this later when I talked with my cousin. I should have thought about it sooner. But it's not like we can do anything against Lucius anyways."

"But if Malfoy senior is involved and his son is not, what does that mean?" asked Hermione.

"I have no idea, Hermione" answered the other girl. "But I have a feeling that this is bigger than what we have in mind. We cannot exclude anyone as suspect anymore. For all we know, maybe the person doing it is just a tool and is not aware of what is going on..."

"Like being under the _Imperius_?" suggested Ron.

"Yes" gloomily replied the Slytherin girl.

"What's the _Imperius_?" asked a confused Harry.

The three others looked at each other and it was Ron who answered. "The _Imperius_ curse was really popular under You-Know-Who" whispered Ron. "A person whom the curse is cast upon loses control of his body. He'll do everything he's ordered to, even killing his own family. Or killing himself."

They all shuddered at the thought and fell in a silent contemplation.

* * *

The news that Colin Creevey had been attacked and was now lying as though dead in the hospital wing had spread through the entire school by Monday morning. The air was suddenly thick with rumour and suspicion. The first-years were now moving around the castle in tight-knit group, as though scared they would be attacked if they ventured forth alone.

Ginny Weasley, who sat next to Colin Creevey in Charms, was distraught, but Avaya felt that Fred and George were going the wrong way about cheering her up. They were taking it in turns to cover themselves in fur or boils and jump out at her from behind statues. They only stopped when Percy, apoplectic with rage, told them he was going to write to Mrs Weasley and tell her Ginny was having nightmares.

Meanwhile, hidden from the teachers, a roaring trade in talismans, amulets and other protective devices was sweeping the school. Neville Longbottom bought a large, evil-smelling green onion, a pointed purple crystal and a rotting newt-tail before Avaya pointed out that he was in no danger: he was a pure-blood, and therefore unlikely to be attacked.

"They went for Filch first" Neville said, his round face fearful, "and everyone knows I'm almost a Squib."

Avaya, on her side, had sneakily interrogated her cousin about the Malfoy's house-elves. She had had confirmation that Dobby belonged to them. But she had also learnt that her own family had had a house-elf. Narcissa had talked often about the times she had spent with Sirius and Regulus before coming to Hogwarts. But Draco had been unable to remember the name of the Black's servant and she had decided to eventually ask Mrs Malfoy about it.

* * *

In the second week of December, Professor Snape came around as usual, collecting names of those who would be staying at school for Christmas. It was unusual for Slytherins to stay. Unless their parents were travelling for business, almost all Slytherins went back home for the Christmas season. But considering what had been happening in school lately, none of the kids really wanted to stay, even if they were pure-bloods. So it was a surprise to everyone when Avaya walked to the Professor to give her name. This year, she would be the only Slytherin staying. Even the Malfoys, probably due to the influence of Narcissa, had cancelled a business trip to stay in Britain. So Draco would be going back to the Manor.

"You're not going home?" asked Blaise Zabini as the girl came back to sit with the other second years.

"My mother is travelling right now. So no, Blaise, I am not going home" answered somewhat truthfully Avaya.

"Why don't you come to the Manor, then?" asked Draco. "I'll owl my mother. I'm sure my parents won't mind" he offered.

"I would love to spend some days at the Manor, Draco" Avaya simply replied.

Avaya had no intentions of spending her full holidays at Malfoy Manor but she wouldn't say no to a day or two. It would be nice to officially meet Narcissa and see how Lucius would react to her now. Aya had written to thank them for the birthday present, but she had not written since. It wasn't like she really knew them anyways.

Later that day, as she came back late from the library, she found the whole House assembled in the common room. Wondering what was going on, she looked around, spotting who seemed to be in charge of this gathering. The boy was a sixth year and seemed rather nervous. Avaya walked to him with assurance. "What's going on here?" she asked coldly.

The boy was a lot taller than her and yet he seemed almost afraid to speak. Clearing his throat and trying to sound self-confident, he answered. "Remember when you said that someone had talked in front of the Gryffindorks about you playing piano in here? We found the culprit."

"Did you, now?" Avaya asked with no sign of interest. "And I remember using Gryffindors, not Gryffindorks" she smirked at the boy in such a Snape-way that the boy shivered. Waiting a second or two, she impatiently looked at the boy. "So, who is it?" she asked brusquely.

The boy moved to the right and pointed towards a small girl whose arms were being held by two other sixth year boys. Avaya looked at the two boys and made a hand movement meaning to let go of their captive. She then looked at the other girl. She was one of the first years; a pure-blood girl of really no importance with a family that had always been neutral in war time.

"Bridget?" asked Avaya who was pretty sure that was the girl's name. Bridget nodded fearfully. Aya got close enough to the girl so she could whisper in her ear. "So tell me what happened."

Bridget shivered unsure and whispered back. "I didn't say anything to the Gryffindors. I was actually talking with a friend in Ravenclaw and I think Ginny Weasley heard us."

Aya took a step back and looked the girl in the eye. She wasn't lying. She took a step forward so only the other girl could hear again. "You're really friend with a Ravenclaw, what's the name?"

"Andrew Wyness" answered Bridget. "But he has nothing to do in this" interjected the girl.

"No worries. I'm just curious. And to be honest" Avaya continued in a whisper so low that Bridget had to concentrate hard to hear what came next, "I am proud to see that you have a friend who's not a Slytherin. You're opening your horizon and that is a good thing."

Walking away from the girl and throwing a look at Teddy, Aya said aloud. "But what can I do with you, Bridget?" Aya could see that Draco seemed afraid of what she would do to the small girl, but Teddy had seen the mischievous glint in her eyes and was not worried at all. Aya turned back to the first year with a disconcerting smile. "Tickling torture!" she yelled before quickly tackling the small girl and tickling her sides.

The whole common room was so shocked for a second that no one moved until Teddy started laughing. And then the tension was released and everyone else joined in with their laugh. After less than a minute, Aya stopped her "torture session" and helped the first year girl back on her feet. "I'd like to meet that friend of yours once" she simply said before patting her back affectionately and leaving the common room. The Slytherins realized that once again Avaya Black had played them.

* * *

A week later, Avaya and some of the second year Slytherins were walking across the Entrance Hall when they saw a small knot of people gathered around the noticeboard, reading a piece of parchment that had just been pinned up. Aya could see that the Golden Trio was already there too.

"They're starting a Dueling Club!" she heard Seamus Finnigan say to the Trio. "First meeting tonight! I wouldn't mind duelling lessons, they might come in handy one of these days..."

"What, you reckon Slytherin's monster can duel?" said Ron, but he too read the sign with interest. "Could be useful" he said to Harry and Hermione as they went into dinner, not even noticing the group of Slytherins behind them.

"Duelling could be fun" said Draco getting near the parchment to read it.

"Yeah, could be" replied Avaya.

And so at eight o'clock that evening, they all hurried back to the Great Hall. The long dining tables had vanished and a golden stage had appeared along one wall, lit by thousands of candles floating overhead. The ceiling was velvety black once more and most of the school seemed to be packed beneath it, all carrying their wands and looking excited. The Slytherins were not far behind Harry and his two friends.

"I wonder who'll be teaching us?" Avaya heard Hermione say as they edged into the chattering crowd. "Someone told me Flitwick was a duelling champion when he was young, maybe it'll be him."

"As long as it's not..." Harry began, but he ended on a groan. Curious, Aya looked in the same direction than Harry. She also was not really happy: Gilderoy Lockhart was walking onto the stage, resplendent in robes of deep plum. At least he was accompanied by none other than Snape, wearing his usual black.

Lockhart waved an arm for silence and called, "Gather round, gather round! Can everyone see me? Can you all hear me? Excellent!"

"Now, Professor Dumbledore has granted me permission to start this little Duelling Club, to train you all up in case you ever need to defend yourselves as I myself have done on countless occasions –"

"Liar" whispered Avaya to no one in particular.

"– for full details, see my published works" continued Lockhart, not having heard the Slytherin girl.

"Let me introduce my assistant Professor Snape" said Lockhart flashing a wide smile. "He tells me he knows a tiny little bit about duelling himself and has sportingly agreed to help me with a short demonstration before we begin. Now I don't want any of you youngsters to worry – you'll still have your potions master when I'm through with him, never fear!"

"Wouldn't it be good if Professor Snape kicked the idiot's sorry arse" Aya muttered in Draco's ear who silently sniggered at the thought.

Snape's upper lip was curling. Avaya wondered why Lockhart was still smiling; if her Head of House had been looking at _her_ like that, _even she_ would have been running as fast as she could in the opposite direction. And she _knew_ that Professor Snape wasn't that bad.

Lockhart and Snape turned to face each other and bowed; at least, Lockhart did, with much twirling of his hands, whereas Snape jerked his head irritably. Then they raised their wands like swords in front of them.

"As you see, we are holding our wands in the accepted combative position" Lockhart told the silent crowd. "On the count of three, we will cast our first spells. Neither of us will be aiming to kill of course."

"Well, that's too bad" Aya murmured, watching expectantly her Head of House.

"One – two – three –"

Both of them swung their wands up and over their shoulders. Snape cried: "_Expelliarmus!_" There was a dazzling flash of scarlet light and Lockhart was blasted off his feet. He flew backwards off the stage, smashed into the wall and slid down it to sprawl on the floor.

Draco and some of the other Slytherins cheered. Pansy though was dancing on her tiptoes. "Do you think he's all right?" she squealed through her fingers.

"Who cares?" said Aya, Teddy and Draco together.

Lockhart was getting unsteadily to his feet. His hat had fallen off and his wavy hair was standing on end.

"Well, there you have it!" he said, tottering back onto the platform. "That was a Disarming Charm – as you see, I've lost my wand – ah, thank you, Miss Brown. Yes, an excellent idea to show them that, Professor Snape, but if you don't mind my saying so, it was very obvious what you were about to do. If I had wanted to stop you it would have been only too easy. However, I felt it would be instructive to let them see..."

Snape was looking murderous. Possibly Lockhart had noticed because he stopped whatever he had been about to say. "Enough demonstrating! I'm going to come amongst you now and put you all into pairs. Professor Snape, if you'd like to help me..."

They moved through the crowd, matching up partners. Lockhart teamed Neville with Justin Finch-Fletchley, but Snape reached Harry and Ron first.

"Time to split up the dream team, I think" he sneered. "Weasley, you can partner Mr Zabini. Potter –"

Harry moved automatically towards Hermione.

"I don't think so," said Snape, smiling coldly. "Mr Malfoy, come over here. Let's see what you make of the famous Potter. And you, Miss Granger – you can partner Miss Bulstrode."

Draco strutted over, smirking. Behind him walked the Slytherin girl who looked more like a tomboy, or a sister of Crabbe and Goyle. Hermione gave a weak smile which was not returned. It was no secret that the Slytherin second years did not like Granger.

Snape continued the pairing. Crabbe and Goyle would face each other, which was probably the best for them considering their common abilities or lack thereof, at least for what Avaya had seen so far. Pansy was partnered with her friend Daphne Greengrass and one could wonder if they would simply start giggling instead of actually trying to disarm each other. Teddy was paired with Tracey Davies, a quiet girl with curly dark strawberry blonde hair to her shoulder. Tracey was a bit of bookworm and just like Nott, she had never followed Malfoy or Pansy. She was studious, but she would be a good match. That only left Avaya out of their group of Slytherins. Snape looked at her with a calculating look. With her power, he could not in good conscience pair her with a second or first year, which is why he had not teamed her up with Nott. At that moment, his eyes fell on another Gryffindor Trio not far that had not been paired officially yet.

"Mr Jordan" he said coldly, "you will face Miss Black" he simply said, letting no place for arguments. When she looked at Lee, Avaya could sense his uncertainty; after all, he was two years older than her. Aya smiled mischievously which caused both twins to laugh at the predicament their friend was in.

"You're doomed" they simply said to Lee before retreating and giving them space.

After a while and once everyone in the hall was paired, Lockhart, back on the platform, called "Face your partners, and bow!"

While she bowed to Lee, Aya noticed Harry and Draco barely inclining their heads and not taking their eyes off each other.

"Wands at the ready!" shouted Lockhart. "When I count to three, cast your charms to disarm your opponent – _only_ to disarm them – we don't want any accidents. One... two... three..."

Aya didn't waste time, she wanted to keep an eye on her cousin, not fully trusting him. It was a good thing she had already practiced some of those spells. She put her wand in front of her and said "_Protego_". As a blue shield apparated in front of her, Lee finally woke from his stupor and tried casting the Disarming Charm on her. Unfortunately, it only bounced back on her well formed shield and she used her chance to let go of the shield and throw her own Disarming Charm at Lee as he tried to jump out of the way of his own spell. The whole matter had barely taken three seconds and she was in possession of both her and Lee's wands.

She turned quickly to make sure that her cousin wasn't going overboard. It seemed that whatever spell Draco had used had kind of knocked out Harry. But the Gryffindor was already pointing his wand straight at Draco and shouted "_Rictusempra!_"

A jet of silver light hit Malfoy in the stomach and he double up, wheezing.

"_I said disarm only!_" Lockhart shouted in alarm over the heads of the battling crowd, as Draco sank to his knees; Harry had hit him with a Tickling Charm, and he could barely move for laughing. Harry hung back; Aya had the feeling that the Gryffindor probably thought it would be unsporting to bewitch Malfoy while he was on the floor. She could have told him that it was a mistake to think that way. Gasping for breath, Draco pointed his wand at Harry's knees, chocked "_Tarantallegra!_" and the next second Harry's legs had begun to jerk around out of his control in a kind of quickstep.

"Stop! Stop!" screamed Lockhart, but Snape took charge.

"_Finite Incantatem!_" he shouted. Harry's feet stopped dancing, Draco stopped laughing and they were able to look up.

Avaya, relieved that the two boys had not killed each other also looked around. A haze of greenish smoke was hovering over the scene. Both Neville and Justin were lying on the floor, panting; Ron and Blaise were simply giving each other murderous looks; it seemed like nothing had happened between Crabbe and Goyle and, as expected, Pansy and Daphne were giggling. However Hermione and Millicent were still moving; the Slytherin tomboy had Hermione in a headlock and she was currently whimpering in pain. Both their wands lay forgotten on the floor. As Harry leapt forward to pull Millicent off, Avaya waved her wand and both girls were separated without knowing what had happened. Millicent noticed Aya glaring at her and gave an involuntary shudder. She guessed she would be talked to when they would be in private again. She didn't fancy the idea and promised herself to behave for the rest of the duelling club.

"Dear, dear" said Lockhart, skittering through the crowd, looking at the aftermath of the duels. "Up you get, Macmillan... careful there, Miss Fawcett... pinch it hard, it'll stop bleeding in a second, Boot..."

"I think I'd better teach you how to _block_ unfriendly spells" said Lockhart, standing flustered in the midst of the hall. He glanced at Snape, whose black eyes glinted, and looked quickly away. "Let's have a volunteer pair – Longbottom and Finch-Fletchley, how about you?"

"A bad idea, Professor Lockhart" said Snape, gliding over like a large and malevolent bat. "Longbottom causes devastation with the simplest spells. We'll be sending what's left of Finch-Fletchley up to the hospital wing in a matchbox." Neville's round pink face went pinker and Avaya thought that once again Snape was going too far in his comments of the Gryffindors. "How about Malfoy and Potter?" said Snape with a twisted smile.

"Excellent idea!" said Lockhart, gesturing Harry and Draco into the middle of the Hall as the crowd backed away to give them room. Avaya disagreed with the pompous man; she didn't think at all that it was an excellent idea; and she was starting to think that her Head of House had more issues than what she had first thought. What with his constant baiting of Harry and his constant attempts to ridicule the boy and the House of Lion in general? Aya frowned; she didn't like where this was going; she could smell trouble miles away. She now realized that sooner or later she would need to have a serious discussion with one Severus Snape. But since there was nothing she could do right now, she sighed and let Fate have its fun, this time. That didn't mean that she wouldn't keep an eye of those four and so she followed them closely until she was in the first rank of the watching students.

"Now Harry" said Lockhart, "when Draco points his wand at you, you do _this_." He raised his own wand, attempted a complicated sort of wiggling action and dropped it. Snape smirked as Lockhart quickly picked it up, saying, "Whoops – my wand is a little over-excited."

Snape moved closer to Malfoy, bent down and whispered something in his ear. Malfoy smirked, too. Harry looked nervously up at Lockhart and said, "Professor, could you show me that blocking thing again?"

"Scared?" muttered Draco, so that Lockhart couldn't hear him.

"You wish" replied Harry out of the corner of his mouth.

Lockhart cuffed Harry merrily on the shoulder. "Just do what I did Harry!"

"What, drop my wand?" asked sarcastically the Gryffindor. _Nice one_, thought proudly Avaya. But Lockhart wasn't listening.

"Three – two – one – go!" shouted the man.

Draco raised his wand quickly and bellowed, "_Serpensotia!_" The end of his wand exploded and Harry watched, aghast, as a long black snake shot out of it, fell heavily onto the floor between them and raised itself, ready to strike. There were screams as the crowd backed swiftly away, clearing the floor. Avaya had not moved but was thinking fast. She had read a bit about snakes, enough to know that some black snakes were venomous and some weren't.

"Don't move, Potter" said Snape lazily, clearly enjoying the sight of Harry standing motionless, eye to eye with the angry snake. Aya, noticing this, became angry enough for her eyes to turn black, but not for her power to get out of control. No one noticed the change. Snape continued, even though he did feel some angry eye on him. "I'll get rid of it..."

"Allow me!" shouted Lockhart. He brandished his wand at the snake and there was a loud bang. The snake, instead of vanishing, flew ten feet into the air and fell back to the floor with a loud smack. Enraged, it slithered straight towards Justin Finch-Fletchley and raised itself again, fangs exposed, poised to strike.

Two things then happened at once. Avaya, reacting on instinct raised a blue dome shield on the snake at the same time that Harry walked towards the reptile and shouted at it to leave Justin alone. And miraculously, inexplicably, the snake slumped to the floor, docile as a thick black garden hose, its eyes now on Harry. Avaya looked at Harry and saw the fear drain out of him. He knew the snake wouldn't attack anyone, though how he knew it, he couldn't have explained. Aya then dropped the shield.

They both looked at Justin, Avaya wondering if the boy would be jumpy for days due to the scare; Harry grinning, expecting to see the other boy relieved, or puzzled, or even grateful. But what they both saw took them aback. Justin was angry and scared; and his body language told Aya that he wasn't scared of the snake anymore, but of Harry.

"What do you think you're playing at?" he shouted, and before any of the two friends could say anything, Justin had turned and stormed out of the Hall.

Snape stepped forward, waved his wand and the snake vanished in a small puff of black smoke. Snape, too, was looking at Harry in an unexpected way: it was a shrewd and calculating look, and Aya was highly suspicious of it. She was also dimly aware of an ominous muttering all around the walls. And as she was still standing there, she saw Ron steering Harry out of the Hall, Hermione hurrying alongside them. As they went through the doors, the people on either side drew away as though they were frightened of catching something. Avaya honestly had no clue of what was going on and so she turned towards Teddy who was now next to her.

"What..." she started asking.

"Not here" he interrupted her in a murmur as he gently tugged on her arm so she would follow them. Draco saw this and also left, trailing them. Neither of them spoke until they were all safely in Draco's room.

"I can't believe Potter is a Parselmouth" groaned Draco.

Aya had heard or read a word similar once, but she couldn't put her finger on it at the moment. "What's a Parselmouth?" she asked the boys.

Draco looked at her with shock. All pure-bloods knew about this. _There is definitely something wrong with her home life if her mother never told her about some of the basic knowledge_, he thought.

"A Parselmouth is someone who can talk to snakes, Aya" explained Teddy.

And then it came back to her, she recited the passage from _Hogwarts: A History_. "Salazar Slytherin was also known as Serpent-tongue and one of the first recorded wizards with the ability to speak Parseltongue. This skill is very uncommon and it is thought to be hereditary, which could explain why the Slytherin crest includes a snake. But even though there is no concrete proof of this supposition, the fact remains that Salazar decided that his House at Hogwarts would also be represented by the snake." She looked thoughtful for a moment before addressing the boys again. "But how can you know that Harry is a Parselmouth?"

Draco just lost is. "Are you kidding? Aya, come on, you were there! You heard him!" he shouted exasperated.

Now starting to have an idea of what was going on, she looked at her cousin nonchalantly an asked, "And what exactly was I supposed to hear, cousin?"

Draco simply looked at her, trying to decide whether she was making fun of him or being stupid, but before he could make more a fool of himself, Teddy who also started having an idea of where Aya was going replied. "Parselmouth sounds like hissing, Aya, like a real snake does. What did you hear?"

At this Draco look surprised. "What do you mean what did she hear?"

Teddy just shrugged and Draco turned to his cousin. "You can't report this to your parents, Draco." The boy simply nodded, becoming more curious. "And I'm sure I won't need to tell you both not to spread the news." Draco nodded again, unsure, while Teddy also nodded but with assurance; he had a pretty good idea of what would come next. "I heard Harry telling the snake to leave Justin alone" she finally answered.

Draco was still processing that piece of information when Teddy replied pensive, "It could definitely be a problem if word of this were to get out. Between a Gryffindor Parselmouth and a Slytherin one, people will have no problem starting to accuse you. And considering the prejudices against our House, it could get worse than just accusations." Aya nodded sagely.

Draco finally connected the dots in all that had been said and became whither than normal, which was probably not healthy. "Aya..." he whispered, "why didn't you tell us you were a Parselmouth?"

"Because I didn't know Draco." And as if that had been a password to some mood change, her eyes narrowed as she fixed her cousin. "And now, pray tell me, Draco, what were you think pulling that stunt in the Great Hall?"

A bit afraid of his cousin's mood change, Draco stuttered. "It – it's – Pro – Professor Snape. He suggested it, you know, to scare a bit Potter. Thought it would be fun..."

Aya, getting angrier, replied through clenched teeth, "And if Snape told you to jump off a bridge, would you do it, Draco?" As the blonde boy opened his mouth to answer, she cut him short. "It's a rhetorical question, Draco. Honestly, I'm not sure at whom I should be madder, Snape for suggesting it or you for actually going through with it." Slowly her voice was raising and her eyes growing darker. "Tell me, what would you have done if it had been me telling the snake to back off? Do you realize all the implications of that little stunt you pulled?" Aya took a deep breath to calm herself and looked at Draco with something akin to disgust. "Don't talk to me for the next couple of days; I might do something to you that I would regret afterwards." She stumped out of her cousin's bedroom and headed to her own, slamming both doors behind her.

Avaya really wanted to barge in Snape's quarters and yell at him, but she knew better than to do it. Why would he listen to her anyways? She was no one special, just another student, just another annoying brat, a clever one, sure, but still just another annoying brat. For now, she would keep quiet, but one day, she swore, one day, he would know what she thought of his childish behaviour.

Aya laid awake for hours that night. She wondered how Harry had come to be a Parselmouth. She had a hunch it was related to that night when Voldemort tried to kill him. But more interesting even was the fact that _she_ was also a Parselmouth. From Draco's reaction, she could safely assume that no Black had ever been a one, which left the Johnston branch of the family. She had no desire to see her mother, but if the woman ever resurfaced, she swore to corner her and get an answer no matter what.

* * *

By the next morning the snow that had begun in the night had turned into a blizzard so thick that the last outside classes of the term were cancelled. Professor Sprout, for one, wanted to fit socks and scarves on the mandrakes, a tricky operation she would entrust to no one else, now that it was so important for the mandrakes to grow quickly and revive Mrs Norris and Colin Creevey.

Avaya, tired of the puppy look her cousin sent her way and the stares from the other Slytherins, decided to skip the History class. It wasn't like Binns would notice anyways. The ghost was totally oblivious. The castle was darker than it usually was in daytime, because of the thick, swirling grey snow at every window. Using a warming charm against the cold, Avaya walked past classrooms where lessons were taking place, catching snatches of what was happening within. Trying not to be seen, Aya quickly walked on by, thinking she could furtively go in the library, find a book and a deserted corner to hide in until her next class.

Avaya had been reading a Charm book for a couple of minutes when she saw Harry passing by quietly. Closing her book, she followed him. Harry was heading towards a group of Hufflepuffs sitting at the back of the library. Between the long lines of high bookshelves, Aya could see that their heads were close together and they were having what looked like an absorbing conversation. Harry was still walking towards them when he suddenly stopped and stayed hidden in two rows of books. Curious, Aya tiptoed closer to see why Harry had stopped.

"So anyways" a stout Hufflepuff boy was saying, "I told Justin to hide up in our dormitory. I mean to say, if Potter's marked him down as his next victim, it's best if he keeps a low profile for a while. Of course, Justin's been waiting for something like this to happen ever since he let slip to Potter he was Muggle-born. Justin actually _told_ him he'd been down for Eton. That's not the kind of thing you bandy about with Slytherin's heir on the loose, is it?"

"You definitely think it is Potter, then Ernie?" said a girl with blonde pigtails anxiously.

"Hannah" said the stout boy solemnly, "he's a Parselmouth. Everyone knows that's the mark of a dark wizard. Have you ever heard of a decent one who could talk to snakes? They called Slytherin himself Serpent-tongue."

There was some heavy murmuring at this, and Ernie went on, "Remember what was written on the wall? _Enemies of the Heir Beware_. Potter had some sort of run-in with Filch. Next thing we know, Filch's cat's attacked. That first-year, Creevey, was annoying Potter at the Quidditch match, taking pictures of him while he was lying in the mud. Next thing we know, Creevey's been attacked."

"He always seems so nice, though" said Hannah uncertainly, "and, well, he's the one who made You Know Who disappear. He can't be all bad, can he?"

Ernie lowered his voice mysteriously, the Hufflepuffs bent closer, and Harry and Aya edged nearer so that they could catch Ernie's words.

"No one knows how he survived that attack by You Know Who. I mean to say, he was only a baby when it happened. He should have been blasted into smithereens. Only a really powerful Dark Wizard could have survived a curse like that." He dropped his voice until it was barely more than a whisper, and said, "_That's_ probably why You Know Who wanted to kill him in the first place. Didn't want another Dark Lord _competing_ with him. I wonder what other powers Potter's been hiding?"

Aya noticed that Harry couldn't take it anymore and before he could do or say anything, she grabbed his arm and put her hand on his mouth so he wouldn't alert everyone.

"Stay quiet" she whispered, pulling a surprised Harry away to a close by empty classroom.

"Why did you stop me?" Harry asked a bit angrily.

"It would have been useless, Harry. No matter what you would have told them, they would not have listened to you. Nor would they have believed you."

"You don't know" the Gryffindor replied defensively. "I wanted to tell them what really happened with the snake."

"Harry, think for two seconds" Aya replied coldly. "Whatever you told the snake, you have no way of proving it. Only Parselmouths could have understood it and none of them is one. I'm sorry Harry, but believe me; people feeble enough to turn on you at the slightest excuse are just not worth your time and effort. Concentrate on your true friends and all the others can be damned. You don't need nor will you ever get everyone's approval."

Harry looked at her with uncertainty. "I guess you're right. It just... makes me so mad." He sighed before continuing, "Thanks for stopping me I guess."

"You're welcome." Avaya hesitated a bit. "I have a question for you, Harry."

"Yeah..."

"I know that you'll face some hard time in the future, and, well, being seen with a Slytherin might not help your cause. So I'd understand if you'd want to stay away from me, I just would like if..."

"What! Are you nuts, Aya!" interjected the Gryffindor. "You just told me I shouldn't care about what the others think and now you think I'll push you away? Forget about it! As you said, I don't give a damn about what those idiots say. You've been more a friend to me than any of them!"

Aya smiled and nodded. "Well, we better leave, I need to go get my books for DADA. Skipping History is easy, but I don't think I could skip Lockhart's class" she said winking at Harry. "See you later" she said waving her hand and heading towards the dungeons.

Had she known that by leaving Harry to his devise he would be found on the scene of a petrified Justin Finch-Fletchley and a black, smoky, immobile Nearly Headless Nick, Avaya would have made sure to accompany him to the Gryffindor Tower. Unfortunately, she was not omniscient and now Harry would look even guiltier. Sometimes, life just sucked.


End file.
